English edition

The ideal of solidarity upon which the European projected was founded is being put to the test in a most palpable manner.

All measures will be in effect through April 27 and will be enforced on a 24-hour basis.

Christos Staikouras expects huge differences between larger member-states to be bridged at a second Eurogroup meeting tomorrow.

We must show strength and virtues such as patience to proceed with the greatest degree of safety as we approach a gradual lifting of the restrictive measures.

Much like her predecessor Mario Draghi, ECB chief Christine Lagarde has declared she will do anything necessary to shore up the eurozone and temper the economic shock of the pandemic.

The Health Ministry’spokesman, Professor Sotiris Tsiodras today announced 77 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Greece in the last 24 hours, and two deaths.

'I hope we will get progress on a coronabond tonight, but more realistically is probably some kind of rescue fund in the making. It should be the minimum of what we can expect,” said Piet Haines Christiansen, a top financial analyst.

The prospect of Turkey exporting its internal problems - whether by sending into Greece’s or Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic zones a hydrocarbons research vessel or by creating strong migrant flows toward Greece - is not unlikely.

For Greece, which by all accounts has done well since the start of this public health crisis, it would be suicidal to blow everything out of the water due to laxity.

“The PM has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputise for him where necessary,” Downing Street said.

Civil Protection chief Nikos Hardalias reiterated that April is "a difficult and critical month" and current positive developments "could be reversed at any moment".

It is not easy at difficult moments to be magnanimous. Yet it is at such times that generosity characterises great leadership, as did the perceptiveness and moral leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel during the refugee crisis of 2015.

We therefore propose that we work together quickly to ensure sufficient liquidity in all European Union countries, so that jobs do not depend on the whims of speculators.

The wealthy states of Northern Europe and especially Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland continue to stubbornly refuse to adopt bold economic measures in the midst of a deadly pandemic.

'The issuance of one-off coronabonds is one possibility, There are other instruments that could be used, like an EU rescue fund or measures involving the ESM or the European Investment Bank,' says Isabel Schnabel.

'The unity, determination and discipline that the Greek society has shown overwhelmingly to date has allowed us to follow a different course from most other countries,' Civil Protection Underminister Nikos Hardalias said.

'They [the state] are asking us to exhibit personal responsibility while at the same time the health of workers is in great danger due to the government and employers,' the party's message states.

The Greeks still quote an aphorism that has remained in the language unchanged from the time of Solon in antiquity: Rejoice in nothing before it is over. It would be wrong for one to believe that a positive outcome in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic is foreordained. Yet at the same time it would be fatalistic for one not to acknowledge that Greece has already accomplished a significant labour and passed a critical hurdle. It has become a model in its handling of the public health crisis for countries which have a long record of organisation, infrastructure, and discipline. Moreover, Greece’s 10-year economic depression has deprived the country of the requisite means to grapple with the current public health crisis with a full arsenal of weapons. It is precisely for that reason that the government acted with exceptional speed and foresight. One should acknowledge this and not issue fatalistic pronouncements that the government turned a weakness into fuel to gain advantage. To paraphrase the famous quote by the late statesman Constantine Karamanlis who declared that “We are doing well abroad”, implying that the domestic picture is not so rosy, one might say today that we are doing well at home. That is the overwhelmingly prevailing sense in public opinion as 86 percent of respondents in a recent surveys approve of the partial lockdown and 67 percent approve of the government’s emergency economic measures [Pulse polling company, 2 April]. These numbers are very significant as they reflect that the crisis is helping to restore citizens’ trust in institutions and the state. Did we need a crisis to begin restoring that necessary trust, to succeed in that labour? The answer lies in yet another ancient aphorism: “There is nothing bad that comes without some good”, which is to say every cloud has a silver lining. Greece .has become a model in its handling of the public health crisis for countries which have a long record of organisation, infrastructure, and discipline.

“We may see a decline yet this is up to us entirely as the spread can very rapidly reach the larger population, depending on whether people abide strictly by current restrictive measures," Tsiodras said.

The level of debate in Parliament yesterday was a far cry from what one used to see in the tumultuous years of Greece’s bailout memorandum and prior to that.