The Greek Current

President Trump caused a stir this week at the NATO summit as he praised the host, Turkish President Erdogan, and ⁠said he was willing to lift sanctions on Turkey and sell Ankara F-35 fighter jets.  These comments saw an immediate reaction on Capitol Hill as members of Congress urged House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to be prepared to use every legisla...

In a few days Turkey will play host to NATO’s leaders for a high-stakes summit that some anticipate could be historic. The two main protagonists at the summit will be President Trump, who has consistently slammed NATO since his return to office, and Turkish President Erdogan, who is likely to use this summit to present himself as an indispensable ally and attempt to legitimize his harsh crackdown...

This week marked 30 years since Andreas Papandreou, the founder and longtime leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement - PASOK, passed away, and Greeks are taking this opportunity to reassess his legacy. Consistently ranked among the most influential leaders of the post-junta era in Greece, Papandreou left his mark on Greek politics and society. Supporters will point to a charismatic leader who...

The big news of the week is undoubtedly President Trump’s deal with Iran to bring an end to the war that has seen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint, shut for months. This agreement, as experts have been keen to point out, is just a start, creating a process for opening the Strait of Hormuz in the short run, and laying out a sixty-day timetable to address many other outstanding issues. Wh...

This week was one full of developments for the Eastern Mediterranean. Top of the list was the announcement in Houston of a major milestone for the region, as the US, Greece, Cyprus and Israel inaugurated the East Med Energy Center, putting into action a major provision of the landmark 2019 EastMed Act, a key priority of HALC. Earlier in the week the East Med Gas Forum was also in the headlines, as...

With tensions running high in the Middle East, President Trump on Friday said Iranian leaders had not yet reached a deal with the US to end the ongoing war. President Trump has insisted that he’s in no rush to make a deal, and that he doesn’t care about how the ongoing war could impact the midterms. At the same time, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is showing little sign of slowing down, des...

On May 21st a Turkish court took the unprecedented step of removing the CHP’s elected leadership, led by Ozgur Ozel, the latest sign of Turkish President Erdogan’s tightening grip on the country. It’s also a sign that Erdogan intends to run for another term as president, and with Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in prison, this move can only mean one thing: Erdogan does not intend to leave the result...

Greek politics is shaking up, as it seems the shift into campaigning is kicking into a higher gear. A major shakeup is underway within Greece’s opposition, as this week saw Maria Karystianou, the popular former president of the Tempe victims’ relatives’ association, announce she is stepping into the fray with a new party. In the coming days we’re also expected to see a similar announcement from fo...

Turkey is once again raising tensions in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, this time putting countries in the region on alert as it prepares a “Blue Homeland” piece of legislation that would essentially enshrine Ankara’s maritime claims into domestic law. The move has Athens on alert, and the question everyone is wondering is whether Turkey is now turning its back on maintaining calm in the re...

President Donald Trump’s recent announcement that the US would pull five thousand troops from Germany took allies by surprise. The latest comments, which came in the wake of European criticism of the Iran war, were followed by a threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on automobiles and auto parts from Europe, as the US President claimed on social media that Europe was not living up to its end of a t...

Last week Cyprus was at the heart of EU developments. For two days it hosted leaders from the EU, from the Middle East, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Topics ranged from critical security issues and the war in Iran, to Europe’s engagement with the broader Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. On the security front, Cyprus is keen to make the EU’s Article 42.7, a mutual defense claus...

Over the past weeks those watching the Eastern Mediterranean can’t help but notice that tensions are heating up between Turkey and Israel as Erdogan’s escalatory posture has some wondering what the wider risks are should this current war of words take on new dimensions. Questions range from what this will mean for US efforts to manage an already tense Middle East, to how this will impact Greece, w...

All of Europe’s eyes were on Hungary this past weekend, where voters, in a historic election, brought Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's 16 years in power to an end.  Orban’s close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his blocking of multiple EU initiatives - including an urgently needed €90 billion loan for Ukraine - had frustrated many across Europe. At the same time, he presided over...

Recently we marked 77 years since the NATO alliance was founded. Instead of celebrating this milestone, however, President Trump’s comments slamming NATO over its reluctance to help the US secure the Straits of Hormuz, including calling the alliance a “paper tiger” and saying NATO allies were “tested” and they “failed”, have left allies wondering if the future of the alliance is in doubt. Given Pr...

This past weekend, with Easter celebrations around the corner, Christians in Syria were once again the target of attacks that have rocked their dwindling community. This was the latest in a string of attacks since the fall of the Assad regime that have targeted members of the country’s Alawite, Druze and Christian communities, and many minorities - indigenous to the region - are asking if there is...

Over the past weeks, Greece, like the rest of the world, has one eye on the ongoing war with Iran and is looking to see what this ongoing crisis, which continues to shake markets, will mean for the global economy. For Greece, these concerns include rising prices, the country’s dependence on imported gas and oil, and the possible impact this could have on the tourism sector as a prolonged crisis co...

With the war in Iran dragging on, its ripple effects are being felt around the world. Beyond the clear questions around regional security, stretching from the Middle East to Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean, we are also in the midst of what could be an unprecedented and escalating global energy crisis as strikes on international shipping in the strait of Hormuz, which is critical to the oil an...

This week kicked off with Turkey announcing the deployment of a number of fighter jets to the occupied part of Cyprus, a move that not only represents a significant escalation in the militarization of the Eastern Mediterranean, where Cyprus has already been targeted by Iranian-made drones, but that may also violate US law. This isn’t the only thing putting Cyprus in the headlines this week. Axios...

Given the incredible feedback we’ve gotten for our "I am HALC" profiles, we will re-release each feature as an individual episode so that you can easily find them and share them. Today, we’re kicking off with our first “I am HALC” profile from January 15th, 2026, where we put the spotlight on Dr. George Chiampas, someone who is not just a national, but a global leader in emergency and sports medic...

On the last day of February the United States and Israel launched a major assault on Iran, killing the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sounding alarm bells across the region. Those sirens also went off in Cyprus, which saw Iranian-made drones target Britain’s Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri, prompting a response from Greece and other European partners who deployed ships, jets, a...

This week marked 4 years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the start of a war that served as a wakeup call for Europe and the West. Since then, we’ve seen Europe take drastic steps to cut its ties to Russian gas, redrawing the region’s energy map. Greece has played, and continues to play, a key role in this story. At the same time, questions remain about European security, the continued Russ...

Over the past weeks we’ve seen some major developments in the region, with Greece stepping into the limelight. These include Greece’s announcement that it will send a special battalion to participate in the International Stabilization Force in Gaza, its decision to join the Board of Peace as an observer, and a key briefing hosted by the Eastern Mediterranean Knesset Caucus bringing together legisl...

About a year into President Trump’s second term, it seems he is on a mission to rewrite the rules of trade, one deal at a time. His Liberation Day tariffs last year rattled markets, and his insistence on using them as a tool to pressure both adversaries and allies has left many - especially in Europe - in disbelief and wondering what’s next.  Experts Edward Fishman, Maria Demertzis, Yiannis Mouzak...

Greece and Cyprus took center stage this week in Washington, DC, as HALC, the Delphi Economic Forum, and Kathimerini’s english edition once again brought top officials and leading experts together to highlight the important role both countries are playing in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the major opportunities - and challenges - ahead for Greece, Cyprus and the US. A few of the headline attendee...

Since its announcement, President Trump’s “Board of Peace” has made a number of headlines, and many in the region are asking if it can live up to its name, especially when it comes to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. As the President talks peace, he’s also raising the temperature with Iran, with a US aircraft carrier and warships approaching the region. More alarming however, is wha...