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21. Migration Trends in Eastern Europe during COVID-19

Author:
Iulia Joja, Gonul Tol, Adam Eberhardt, and Holger Fabian Sahl
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Abstract:
COVID-19 has highlighted the vulnerabilities of refugees and migrants around the world, many of whom have been caught in transit as governments shut down borders. The virus is also placing increasing strain on migration pressure points, while enabling new migration trends to emerge. This has been particularly evident in Eastern Europe. Thousands of refugees gathered at the Turkey-Greece border at the beginning of the crisis, hoping to cross European Union borders. Meanwhile, many Ukrainian migrants living and working in Poland are leaving the EU to reach their homes and families. The Middle East Institute (MEI) is pleased to host a virtual panel in collaboration with the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) in Poland. The event will focus on the challenges facing refugees and migrants in Eastern Europe during COVID-19, as well as the response of governments and the European Union. What are the economic, political and security implications for the region? Are policymakers considering refugees in their COVID-19 preparations? Is the pandemic fueling anti-refugee sentiment in countries like Poland and Turkey? What is the role of the European Union in coordinating a regional response, and is it delivering?
Topic:
Government, Migration, European Union, Refugees, Displacement, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Greece, and Poland

22. Greece’s Eastern Mediterranean Policy

Author:
Maciej Pawłowski
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Greece aims to strengthen its political and economic position in the Eastern Mediterranean, which was weakened after the economic crisis of 2008–2013. Among the ways to regain this stature are through access to natural resources and participation in regional alliances. The Greeks perceive Turkey as the main threat to achieving these goals. It is in the EU’s interest to foster better relations between the two countries and to find compromise in disputes between them.
Topic:
European Union, Economy, Alliance, and Regional Integration
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Greece, and Mediterranean

23. The refugee ‘crisis’ in Greece: politicisation and polarisation amidst multiple crises

Author:
Angeliki Dimitriadi and Antonia-Maria Sarantaki
Publication Date:
04-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Abstract:
The European refugee “crisis” of 2015 first and foremost unfolded in Greece at a critical period for the country and its place in the EU. Amidst the threat of Grexit and domestic political turmoil, the arrival of the refugees raised to the forefront questions of responsibility and burden sharing between Greece and its EU partners. Drawing from de Wilde’s analytical framework, this paper tried to explore whether the question of responsibility became an issue of politicisation in Greece as well as polarisation and whether it resulted in policy change on migration. The analysis draws from three types of sources: online media, parliamentary debates & party announcements, and public opinion polls. Two periods are investigated: the discussion on relocation from May 2015 to November 2015 and the discussions on the EU-Turkey Statement of March 2016. Politicisation of migration pre-existed the crisis and acquired further salience during 2015-2016. Polarisation, in contrast, featured less in 2015, due to the focus on Grexit, but acquires salience in 2016 following the EU-Turkey Statement. Nonetheless two common themes underscore both periods. There is convergence (with varying degrees of intensity) in blaming the member states for failing to adhere to their responsibility and for showing little solidarity. Similarly, there is a broad convergence that migration policy is designed by the European Union and its institutions, with Greece only responsible for the implementation. Thus, the polarisation of 2016 over migration focuses more on the government’s poor implementation and less on the policies initiated at the EU level.
Topic:
European Union, Refugee Crisis, Asylum, and Polarization
Political Geography:
Europe and Greece

24. Bulgaria sets tough conditions on North Macedonia’s EU accession path

Author:
Yorgos Christidis
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Abstract:
The hardening of Sofia’s position vis-à-vis North Macedonia and the attempt to condition Skopje’s accession process upon the previous satisfaction of a number of key Bulgarian preconditions undoubtedly constitutes a critical moment in bilateral, Bulgarian-North Macedonian relations. No Bulgarian government in the future may easily ignore or abandon these strict conditions. Sofia has “bound itself” into a tough diplomatic position, reminiscent of Greek policy vis-à-vis North Macedonia, where dominant perceptions of history-identity and a feeling of diplomatic superiority dictated a strict diplomatic position that no Greek government dared to openly question, let alone abandon. Some of the key Bulgarian demands on history, however, touch upon fundamental aspects of the North Macedonian national narrative and nation-building and it will be hard for any government in Skopje to accept. It will certainly take a lot of good will and creative thinking by both sides in order to move forward.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, and European Union
Political Geography:
Europe, Greece, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia

25. Asylum-seekers’ integration: The time has come

Author:
Haris Malamidis
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Abstract:
Although four years have passed since the 2015 refugee “crisis”, Greece’s reception system is still inadequate in serving the needs of the arriving populations. Since current debates focus on the weaknesses of the reception system, the issue of asylum-seekers and refugees’ integration has been indirectly outweighed. Without underestimating the issue of reception, this policy brief argues that the current political, social and environmental developments highlight the need to move towards decentralized and locally-oriented integration policies. After discussing the past context and the current developments of migration in Greece, we highlight the political, utilitarian and moral reasons that render integration policies both necessary and beneficiary for the domestic and migrant populations. Finally, we conclude with some recommendations regarding the way forward.
Topic:
Migration, European Union, Refugees, Asylum, and Integration
Political Geography:
Europe and Greece

26. The Greek Crisis and Its Repercussions on the Balkan Neighbourhood: The End of the Myth

Author:
Marilena Koppa
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:
International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:
This article explores the role of Greece in the Balkans since the end of Communism and the impact of the sovereign debt crisis that followed. Since the beginning of the 1990s, while Greece failed to accomplish its vocation at the political level, at the level of the economy the country acted as an important regional actor. The article examines the dynamics of the Greek crisis on the Balkan economies and analyses the major challenges for Greece in this new reality. At the same times, it tries to identify the triple crisis faced currently by Greece: at the level of credibility and status, at the level of mediation between the region and the EU and, finally, at the level of the gradual peripherisation of the country.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, Migration, European Union, and Crisis Management
Political Geography:
Europe, Greece, and Balkans

27. Progress in resolving the Greek-Macedonian name dispute

Author:
Erwan Fouéré
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
Some might argue that Macedonia is being asked to pay an unduly heavy price simply for the sake of starting EU accession negotiations, while others will believe that the Agreement reached last weekend is well worth that price. Of all the many bilateral disputes that continue to cast a shadow over the Western Balkan region, none is more symbolic of the deep-rooted legacy of history and the politics of identity and nationalism that pervade the region than the dispute that has divided the two neighbouring countries, Greece and Macedonia, for decades and more recently since the latter’s independence in 1991 following the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. Greece, whose northern province is also called Macedonia, used every opportunity to make clear its objection to what it perceived as the appropriation by Macedonia of the heritage of Alexander the Great, and what it called its “irredentist behaviour”. Macedonia’s admission to the UN under the provisional name of the “former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” was blocked for over a year until 1993. The Interim Agreement of 1995 lifted the 20-month Greek blockade against Macedonia and committed both sides to continue negotiations under UN auspices and enjoined Greece from blocking Macedonia’s application for membership in other international bodies as long as it did so under the provisional name. Under the patient guidance of the UN mediator Matthew Nimetz appointed in 1995, various attempts were made over the years to find a compromise solution. These intensified in the run-up to the 2008 NATO Summit when Macedonia expected to be admitted as a new member alongside Croatia and Albania. But because of Greece’s continued objections despite the Interim Agreement of 1995, only Croatia and Albania were admitted. This dealt a severe blow to Macedonia’s foreign policy aspirations, and resulted in a hardening of the populist behaviour of the then Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. The latter had already infuriated his Greek neighbours by renaming the Skopje city airport Alexander the Great airport in the previous year. Although he initiated contacts with George Papandreou, the newly elected Prime Minister of Greece in 2009, Gruevski used the continuing dispute as a barely disguised fig leaf for his increasingly authoritarian rule and a massive building spree in Skopje. This included a 23-metre statue euphemistically called “warrior on a horse”, but clearly meant as a symbol of Alexander the Great. Using financial resources that the country could ill afford, Gruevski sought to portray himself through these monumental works of dubious quality and design as the defender of the Macedonian identity. Mr Gruevski is now facing a two-year prison sentence for corruption, which he is appealing, and four other charges of alleged abuse of power, electoral fraud, violation of public procurement laws and criminal behaviour against the public order.
Topic:
Nationalism, Treaties and Agreements, European Union, Identity, and Disputes
Political Geography:
Europe, Greece, and Macedonia

28. Greece and the European Project: Canary in the Coal Mine?

Author:
Daniel V. Speckhard
Publication Date:
09-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
After serving for two challenging years in the chaos of a war zone as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Iraq, I received word that I would become the next Ambassador to Greece. To be quite honest, I had mixed feelings. I looked forward to the challenge, but I imagined the post would be too sedate compared with the adrenalin-charged days and world-shaping events in Iraq. It was anything but. Within a year of my arrival, the streets were aflame with violent protests over a police shooting of a teenager. A year later, snap elections brought a socialist government to power. And soon thereafter, the onion was further peeled to expose a financial crisis and a crumbling economic foundation built on a corrupt, oligarchic, and debt-addicted system fed by billions of dollars of public and private EU loans and grants.
Topic:
Corruption, Economics, Politics, Financial Crisis, and European Union
Political Geography:
Europe and Greece

29. The “Spirit Of Davos” Revisited: The Greco-Turkish Rapprochement And Its Effects On The Greeks in Turkey (1987-1989)

Author:
Asli Bilge
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternative Politics
Institution:
Department of International Relations, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
Abstract:
This article focuses in detail on the rapprochement period or the “Davos spirit” of the late 1980s, initiated by Turkey who was searching to rejuvenate its relations with the European Community. The aim is to shed light on the measures, appropriated by the government concerning especially property rights not fully known in details by the public. The utilitarian approach will be analysed closely in order to find out whether those measures were effective on the long run on the Greek minority.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, European Union, and Regional Integration
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, and Greece

30. Greek Entrepreneurs to the Rescue: How to Reinvent the Greek Economy after the Sovereign Debt Crisis

Author:
Nasos Mihalakas
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The Greek dimension of the EU sovereign debt crisis is by now well known to all. Investor anxiety over excessive national debt throughout the EU led to demands for higher interest rates from several governments with higher debt levels and current account deficits. This in turn made it difficult for some governments to finance further budget deficits and service existing debt. Unable to pay for its public debt, the Greek government turned to the EU for financial assistance. The first bailout package was approved on May 2010, which provided the Greek government with a three-year, €110 billion loan. In February 2012, the lending troika (EU, IMF, and ECB) eventually agreed to provide a second bailout package worth €130 billion. This second package included an agreement with banks to "voluntarily" accept a 53.5 percent write-off of some Greek debt, the equivalent of €100 billion, to reduce the country's debt level from €340 billion to €240 billion – or 120.5 percent of GDP – by 2020. So far, all the reforms forced upon Greece centers on how to reduce the government budget. These reforms include reducing the minimum wage for public (and therefore, also private) sector employees by 22 percent, cutting benefits to pensioners and health-care recipients, reducing the government payroll by laying off 150,000 public sector employees by 2015, privatizing government companies, and opening up some industries that were closed to competition. For now, Greece has been brought back from the brink of bankruptcy. Though safe for now, the country could find itself struggling to meet the strict conditions outlined in the second bailout agreement if key structural reforms don’t take place. It is not too late for the crisis to serve as an opportunity.
Topic:
Debt, Financial Crisis, European Union, and IMF
Political Geography:
Europe and Greece