GREEK-TURKISH RELATIONS: The European Union is a defender of the rule of law, Fisheries and Oceans Commissioner Costas Kadissaid yesterday (photo) in response to persistent questions from Greek journalists regarding Turkey ’s claims in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, with an emphasis on the bill he is preparing to submit to his country’s parliament regarding the “Blue Homeland.”
“We expect a country that is a candidate for accession to the European Union to respect international law and the UNCLOS Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
The Cypriot Commissioner further added: “I have encouraged and been in cooperation with the Greek authorities regardingMaritime Spatial Planning. We are in constant consultation to fully complete this planning within the coming months.”
He also revealed that during his meeting with Minister of Shipping Vassilis Kikilias, they discussed equipping the ministry’s services with new, state-of-the-art surveillance vessels.
Of interest, however, was his response that for there to be European intervention in cases of violations of Greek rights by Turkish fishing vessels, there must be a fully documented complaint, which, as he said, includes an inspection of the vessel to verify that it is carrying fishing equipment, etc.
In other words, a standard… vessel inspection.
SAMARAS: Awaiting the former prime minister’s new appearance, on Friday from Crete (he will speak at an open think tank event), as well as his final decision on forming a new party, voices within New Democracy are constantly calling for unity within the party as it heads toward the polls.
“We are saddened by this whole situation with Antonis Samaras. He is a former prime minister who, in my opinion, saved the country from the brink of disaster,” said Deputy Minister of Transport Konstantinos Kyranakis, adding that “there is a much better chance of winning a majority if we go to the polls united.
This requires gestures of goodwill from both sides. The New Democrats love Antonis Samaras and he must not turn his back on them,” he noted.
Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis was also asked about the former prime minister and the potential party he might form. As he said, he will comment on the matter if it comes to that, though he declared himself a champion of “unity, not division.”
Nevertheless, the Messinian appears to have made up his mind.
P.S.: Antonis Samaras and Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be in Corinth today for the funeral of Deputy Minister of the Environment Nikos Tagaras.
KARISTIAOU: Maria Karistianou revealed the cost of her event in Thessaloniki, where “Hope for Democracy” was presented, during a television interview (on ANT1).
As she said, the presentation at the “Olympion” in Aristotelous Square cost 18,000 euros, an amount she covered personally. Regarding the funding of the new party, she emphasized that there is a specific budget.
Early polls show Maria of Tempi’s party in third or fourth place, behind the second-place ELAS and roughly on par with PASOK.
The competition—at least for the position of official opposition—is fierce, and her harsh criticism of Alexis Tsipras fits into this context. She described his party as “leftovers” and ruled out—once again—any possibility of cooperation with him, or with the “old system” as a whole .
On a personal note, Ms. Karistianou noted that she had “always been politically active, ” but hadn’t voted in years because “I didn’t see any hope.”
SYRIZA: Two weeks ago, this column had reported as an extreme scenario one that was being whispered by some at Koumoundourou: that SYRIZA would remain a party—that is, it wouldn’t dissolve—but wouldn’t “run” in the elections, and that some of its officials would appear on the ballots of Tsipras’s party.
Well, this (indeed) extreme scenario… is now being circulated by members of the broader “Famellos group” ahead of the party’s Central Committee’s contentious meeting on Saturday, with the agenda “what do we do—how do we move forward.”
To put it in context, the other scenario (from the leadership’s perspective, at least) is to leave things as they are and for everyone to work together to persuade Tsipras to agree to an electoral alliance with SYRIZA—something he has made clear he will not do.
There is no talk of the party dissolving itself—at least not at this stage.
P.S.: There is also the minority position (Polakis, Pappas, Dourou) advocating for an independent (without Tsipras) run in the elections and an effort, until then, to forge alliances with forces and figures (such as Kotzias, Arsenis, and others). If this position prevails, it is very difficult to imagine Socrates Famellos remaining president…
VAROUFAKIS: It is well known that a faction of the remaining New Left wants an electoral alliance with MeRA 25.
Varoufakis himself says that he holds many of these leaders in high regard and would not say “no” to joining forces with them. Where do the wishes seem to diverge?
In Yianis’s veto of Tsakalotos: “Under no circumstances, truly under no circumstances, ” he said yesterday (on Open) when asked about it. Explaining that “we were friends” and “Euclid was supposed to be my left-wing conscience, but he went and signed the third memorandum, mortgaging public property for 99 years.”
“Yes” to cooperation, then, but without Euclid. Let’s see if (Euclid’s) political friends in the fractured NEAR will accept this veto, or if we’re looking at… a split within the party.
STOCK MARKET: Yesterday’s session saw a “backlog” of activity related to the MSCI rebalancing, according to traders. This is because some passive funds traditionally chose to execute the remainder of their trades one session later.
The trading volume of €324.5 million and the high activity in auctions reflected this.
GEK TERNA: Higher income from investments in affiliated companies partially offset increased depreciation and higher financial expenses, contributing to a 33% rise in net profits (€35 million).
Thermoelectric Komotini contributed €6 million and Heraklion International Airport (Kastelli) €5 million.
LAMDA DEVELOPMENT: The listed company is returning to the bond market with the issuance of a seven-year bond, the offering of which begins today and will be completed on Friday.
The yield range, as announced yesterday, is between 4.2% and 4.5%.
Lamda Development aims to raise €350 million. Of this amount, the majority (€320 million) will be used for the full early repayment of a previous bond.
LAMDA DEVELOPMENT II: According to analysts, the implementation of the agreement signed last August with the ION Group is of crucial importance for the group and its upcoming residential projects in Elliniko.
Once due diligence is completed and the contractual documents are signed by the end of July, as stated in the prospectus for the retail bond issuance, the group will receive €450 million, marking the start of investments in the Hellinikon business center.
A significant portion of the funds that Elliniko will receive from the sale of land to ION, combined with the proceeds from similar, albeit smaller-scale, will finance the working capital for the development of new residential complexes, without pre-sales.
This means that the group will finance construction by deploying significantly higher working capital, but its profit margin will not be squeezed due to a potential rise in construction costs and predetermined sales prices.
MOTOR OIL: The Vardinoyannis Group’s stock surged to a new high in the wake of explosive first-quarter growth. The stock closed at a daily high of €39.40, up 6.54%, while trading volume exceeded €8.4 million.
Estimates suggest that profitability will remain at high levels in the second quarter as well, which for some is fueling expectations of greater shareholder returns.
KRI KRI: A sixth consecutive session of gains brought a new high for the dairy company’s stock, which surprised analysts with its quarterly results.
It now stands at €28.30 after yesterday’s +4.81% gain. From its year-to-date low of €19.96 on March 24, it has posted a return of nearly 42%.
THRACE PLASTICS: The stock is approaching its yearly high (€4.52 from January 15) following yesterday’s 5.63% rise to €4.41.
Notably, trading volume was high. A total of 109,000 shares changed hands, a figure not seen since late April.