Britain, Cyprus hail 'new era' on military land

Yahoo – AFP, 9 May 2022 

An aerial view of the United Kingdom's Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area east of
Larnaca -- it is one of two such areas on the island of Cyprus (AFP/Amir MAKAR)
(Amir MAKAR)

Thousands of Cypriots living on British military land will have the right to develop their properties under a deal to take effect next week, ending decades of unequal treatment, officials said Monday. 

Under the 1960 treaty granting Cyprus independence from Britain, the United Kingdom retained control of two Sovereign Base Areas covering three percent of the island's land area. 

These include not only the bases themselves but Cypriot communities home to around 12,000 people -- more than the number of British military personnel and their families. 

Non-military development on base land has until now been generally restricted. 

Cypriot property owners on base land were subject to "62 years of distortions and imbalances" which the deal to be implemented from May 16 will remove, Cyprus's President Nicos Anastasiades said at a ceremony. 

Residential, commercial and other developments will be possible under the arrangement. 

"It is a truly historic agreement", Anastasiades told the ceremony attended by base officials. 

British High Commissioner Stephen Lillie told the gathering that "a new era of non-military development" begins next week. 

"From that day, landowners in the bases will be able to submit planning applications and develop their land much like they can anywhere else in Cyprus," he said, describing it as a "levelling up." 

In a statement, British Forces Cyprus said that, for the first time, third-country nationals in addition to Cypriots will be able to own property, live, and run a business in the base areas -- subject to environmental, security and zoning considerations. 

Anastasiades reached an agreement in 2014 with then-British Prime Minister David Cameron paving the way for the changes being implemented from next week. 

In an interview with AFP, Anastasiades said the agreement did not mean an alteration to the 1960 treaty and did not require discussions with Greece and Turkey, the other 1960 signatories. 

He said it is simply changing the status of the residents in the base areas, "giving a chance for development which is a great thing. We are talking about a huge extent of land." 

The base areas cover 254 square kilometres (98 square miles). 

Cyprus, an eastern Mediterranean island, has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded following a Greek-sponsored coup. The Republic of Cyprus, whose overwhelming majority are Greek Cypriots, has effective control over the southern two-thirds of the island.

N.Macedonia PM calls for snap election after EU snub

Yahoo – AFP, Robert Atanasovski with Sally Mairs in Belgrade, October 19, 2019

The name change was to unblock EU talks, but it didn't, courtesy of France
(AFP Photo/Robert ATANASOVSKI)

Skopje (Republic of North Macedonia) (AFP) - North Macedonia's prime minister on Saturday proposed a snap election after the EU blocked the start of membership talks, scrambling what had been the key policy goal of his administration.

After hours of heated wrangling, European Union leaders on Friday could not agree on opening Skopje's accession negotiations, chiefly because of opposition from France.

The move triggered a wave of anger and disappointment, not just in North Macedonia and Albania -- whose bid was also put on hold -- but among EU officials and leaders who had lobbied hard to open the talks.

"We are victims of the EU's historic mistake," Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said in a televised address, echoing the words of European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker a day earlier, who appeared deeply apologetic for the decision.

"This is what I'm proposing: organising quick snap elections where you, citizens, will decide the road we are going to take," Zaev said. He would meet with the president and other political leaders on Sunday to discuss the next steps, he added.

North Macedonia's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said the EU had made a 'historic
mistake' in blocking the start of accession talks (AFP Photo/OLIVER BUNIC)

"I have no date, all options are open, we will agree on that all together," he added.

'Give me a mandate'

In his address, Zaev said he shared the "anger and disappointment" of the people. But he asked them to give him another chance to keep fighting for the membership bid.

"I love my country, so I am asking people to give me a mandate to continue along this path."

Zaev and his Social Democrats came to power in 2017, ousting the right-wing party of former strongman Nikola Gruevski, who had dominated the country for a decade.

Since then, his government has poured all of its political capital into putting North Macedonia on a path to EU membership.

That included embarking on a complicated and politically risky effort to change his country's name, which has been Macedonia ever since it emerged from former Yugoslavia in 1991.

Adding 'North' to the name was a painful compromise that resolved a decades-old argument with Greece that was seen as the major stumbling block for any future EU integration.

Zoran Zaev's government has poured all of its political capital into putting North
Macedonia on a path to EU membership (AFP Photo/Robert ATANASOVSKI)

Brussels had pushed hard for the name change and promised the Balkan state would be rewarded.

While the deal won North Macedonia an invitation to join NATO, the larger goal of starting EU talks keeps sliding towards the horizon.

"We delivered results in the reforms, we resolved the issues with our neighbours, but they (the EU) did not keep their word," Zaev said in his address.

Apart from France, all the other member states accepted that North Macedonia had made enough progress on reforms to start the negotiations.

Yet French President Emmanuel Macron refused to budge from his position that the entire accession process must first be reformed before opening the door to new members.

The issue is now on hold until next spring.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and his son Dushko cast their ballot for a referendum
to re-name their country North Macedonia on September 30, 2018 (AFP Photo/
DIMITAR DILKOFF)

"This is just not fair, what France did, what the EU did," said Vladimir Kostovski, a 28-year-old in Skopje.

Velko Velinov, a 29-year-old legal assistant, shared the frustration.

"They made us change our name for zero, for nothing. Zaev did that and now he is gonna lose elections," he told AFP.

All of the Western Balkan countries aspire to someday join the European Union, but progress has been slow and is increasingly threatened by the waning appetite for enlargement among some member states.

The EU's failure to follow through for North Macedonia is a "disastrous" blow to the bloc's credibility in the region, said James Ker-Lindsay, a Balkans expert at the London School of Economics.

UN notified of name change to North Macedonia

Yahoo – AFP, 13 February 2019

Workers set up a sign reading 'Republic of North Macedonia' at the
Macedonia-Greece border near Gevgelija on February 13, 2019

The United Nations confirmed on Wednesday that it has been officially informed by the Macedonian government that the country's new name is North Macedonia.

At the United Nations, the country had been known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) because Greece objected to the use of Macedonia, the name used for its own northern region.

The 27-year-old dispute was finally settled in June during UN-brokered talks.

The new name came into force Tuesday after constitutional changes were published in the Official Gazette and Skopje's foreign ministry said both countries had informed the UN by letter that the change is now in force.

A UN official said a notice would be sent to the General Assembly and the Security Council to inform them of the change.

Since 1991, Athens had objected to its neighbor being called Macedonia because Greece has a historic northern province of the same name. Greece has blocked Macedonia's NATO and EU integration until it changes the name.

New border crossings open in divided Cyprus, first in 8 years

Yahoo – AFP, 12 November 2018

United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) officers patrol inside the
buffer zone that slices between the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus
and the Turkish-occupied north, in Nicosia on June 14, 2018

Cypriot officials opened two new border crossings Monday for the first time in eight years, the latest push for peace by the two sides after UN-backed talks collapsed last year.

Dozens of people from the island's Greek Cypriot south streamed across the eastern Dherynia border post, walking past United Nations peacekeepers into the breakaway Turkish-backed north.

At the same time, the Lefka or Aplici crossing opened in the northwest of the eastern Mediterranean island.

Ahead of the Dherynia crossing reopening, soldiers removed barriers wrapped in rusty barbed wire and a small group of riot police stood by.

But despite arguments breaking out among onlookers in the run-up to the midday (1000 GMT) opening, the crowd passed peacefully through the border.

The latest move was welcomed by Elizabeth Spehar, UN special representative and head of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus.

"Today is good day for Cyprus," she said in a statement.

Map of Cyprus

"These crossing points will play an important role in helping to increase people to people contacts, contributing to build much needed trust and confidence between the communities on the island."

The development is also seen as a vital step to reviving peace negotiations, which collapsed in acrimony in July last year.

"It's another asset to the peace talks," said Chris Charalambous, who was just 18 when war broke out in 1974.

Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third in response to a coup sponsored by the military junta then in power in Athens seeking to unite the island with Greece.

For the first time since fleeing the conflict Charalambous was looking forward to seeing his house, which he said lies in a Turkish Cypriot military zone.

"I'm just going to walk down and then I walk back, I don't know if I can stand spending time in the north," he told AFP.

Cyprus has been divided for more than four decades and the two communities lived isolated from one another until Turkish Cypriot authorities cleared the way for the free movement of people in 2003.

Greece, Macedonia sign historic deal to end name row

Yahoo – News, Vassilis KYRIAKOULIS, Saska Cvetkovska, 17 June 2018

The name change was agreed on in talks between Greek Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras, seen on the right, and his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev, both of
whom were at the signing ceremony

Greece and Macedonia on Sunday signed a historic preliminary agreement to rename the small Balkan nation the Republic of North Macedonia, ending a row that has poisoned relations between the two neighbours since 1991.

"This is a brave, historic and necessary step for our peoples," said Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

"We are here to heal the wounds of time, to open a path for peace, fraternisation and growth for our countries, the Balkans and Europe," he said.

"Our two countries should step out of the past and look to the future," said Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

"By signing the agreement... we have really moved mountains," he stressed.

But as the two countries' foreign ministers signed the deal Greek protesters clashed with riot police, who beat them back with tear gas near the small village of Pisoderi, 25 kilometres (16 miles) away from the ceremony.

Six policemen and six protesters were injured, police said, as around 500 demonstrators waving Greek flags tried to approach the signature ceremony.

The accord aims to start unravelling one of the world's longest diplomatic disputes, which began 27 years ago with Macedonia's declaration of independence but whose roots date back centuries.

"The time has come again to sing happy songs in the Balkans," Tsipras said, moments before the document was signed by the foreign ministers.

Greece's northern province of Macedonia was the cradle of Alexander the Great's 

empire and is a source of intense pride for modern-day Greeks

Zaev and several of his ministers arrived by speedboat at the picturesque fishing village of Psarades under a sunny sky, on the southern bank of Lake Prespa, one of the natural boundaries between the two countries.

Tsipras and Zaev embraced on the village dock and were treated to a standing ovation by gathered dignitaries.

UN under-secretary-general for political affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, longterm UN negotiator Matthew Nimetz, EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini and EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn were on hand, snapping pictures with their smartphones.

Nimetz, who turned 79 on Sunday, and was given a birthday cake, has been trying to broker a solution since 1994, first as a US envoy and subsequently on behalf of the United Nations.

But it was the election of Zaev in 2017, replacing nationalist prime minister Nikola Gruevski, that proved crucial.

An economist and former mayor of Strumica, Zaev made a rapprochement with Greece a priority to secure his country's membership of the European Union and NATO, blocked by Athens for years.

After the signature, Tsipras crossed over to the Macedonian side of Lake Prespa for lunch, becoming the first Greek prime minister to visit the neighbouring state.

Since 1991, Athens has objected to its neighbour being called Macedonia because it has its own northern province of the same name, which in ancient times was the cradle of Alexander the Great's empire -- a source of intense pride for modern-day Greeks.

Protest rallies against the name change took place in both countries

The two premiers, born just months apart in 1974, have bucked strong hostile reactions at home to push ahead with the agreement.

Accusations of treachery

Tsipras has been accused of treachery by Greek hardliners, and on Saturday defeated a vote of censure against his government amid protests and clashes with police outside parliament.

In Macedonia, President Gjorge Ivanov plans to exercise a one-time veto option to block the deal that the nationalist opposition has called a "capitulation".

The Macedonian parliament is scheduled to start debating the agreement the coming week.

The accord still needs to be approved by Macedonia's parliament and then pass a referendum.

The Macedonian constitution must also be revised by the end of the year, before Greece's parliament is called to ratify it.

On Sunday, some 5,000 people marched against the name deal in Bitola, in southwestern Macedonia, an event organised by the main opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

"Macedonia was hit by a hurricane today, and that hurricane has a name -- Zoran Zaev," VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski told the crowd. He reiterated that his party would not support any constitutional bid to change the country's name.

The one-hour protest held under slogan "Child North Macedonia -- Father Tsipras, Mother Zaev" ended peacefully.

'Brave steps'

Tsipras' domestic critics say he has bargained away Greece's diplomatic advantages -- the power of veto over EU and NATO accession -- for a deal that could backfire.

Rainbow flags fly across Europe at Gay Pride parades

Yahoo – AFP, June 9, 2018

Marchers carry a rainbow flag aloft at a Gay Pride parade in Zagreb, Croatia
(AFP Photo/STRINGER)

Bucharest (AFP) - Thousands of people took to the streets to support LGBT rights in cities across Europe on Saturday, with marchers waving rainbow flags and condemning discrimination in all its forms.

Peaceful parades took place across European cities including the capitals of Italy, Greece, Latvia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland.

In Bucharest, some 3,000 people marched through the city centre with many celebrating a ruling made by the EU's top court earlier this week.

The European Court of Justice ruled in favour of Romanian gay man Relu Coman's right to have his US husband Robert "Clai" Hamilton live with him in Romania.

"Clai and I are two people who did not accept discrimination. If more of us did the same, the world would be better," Coman told AFP at the march.

Romania does not recognise same-sex marriage and had argued that Hamilton was not entitled to EU residency rights awarded to spouses.

The European court ruling means that same-sex partners of EU citizens have the right to live in any member state whatever their nationality, even in countries that do not recognise gay marriage.

Two men kiss at the Baltic Pride parade in Latvia's capital Riga (AFP 

Photo/Ilmars ZNOTINS)

In Warsaw, tens of thousands marched for the annual "Equality Parade" to protest discrimination not just against LGBT people but also women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

Organisers said 45,000 people took part, while the town hall gave a lower estimate of 23,000.

'Love knows no boundaries'

"I come from a small town and first marched for equality 10 years ago, without telling my parents," Dominika Wroblewska said at the Warsaw parade.

"It's very moving for me, especially since I came out a year ago," she said.

Rainbow flags fly at the parade in Riga (AFP Photo/Ilmars ZNOTINS)

Her partner Alicja Nauman said she was marching "because I want to live in a place where all love is accepted, because love knows no boundaries".

"The situation in Poland is bad because same-sex couples cannot marry or adopt children."

Thousands, including members of a LGBT police association, also turned out for the 14th edition of Gay Pride in Athens.

The Athens events had previously been largely shunned by institutions and notably harassed by far-right groups, but this year's edition was attended by a delegation from the liberal-conservative New Democracy party.

Not to be outdone, the facade of parliament, overlooking Syntagma square at the heart of the festivities, was symbolically lit up in all colours of the rainbow in a government initiative.

Since the leftist government took office in 2015, Greece has extended civil partnerships to same-sex couples, authorised sex changes from the age of 15 and legislated for children to be adopted by same-sex partners -- though New Democracy voted against the reforms which the powerful Orthodox Church also opposes.

The "Baltic Pride" parade in Latvia's capital Riga included members of the gay community from fellow Baltic states Estonia and Lithuania.

A handful of anti-gay protesters rally before the parade in Riga (AFP Photo/

Ilmars ZNOTINS)

One of the organisers, Kaspars Zalitis, told AFP that about eight thousand people marched.

"Latvia is in last place in the European Union when it comes to the rights of LGBT people," Zalitis said.

"There is no protection against hate crimes, no respect for trans people, that's why we think this issue is greatly urgent."

About 30 people protested before the start of the parade in Riga, following a call by a rightwing group for a demonstration against "the promotion of homosexuality".

In Rome, thousands also marched Saturday just days after Italy's new families minister from the far-right League party caused a storm, saying homosexual families do not legally exist.

"It's very important that we're here, because we need to respond and show that it's not true that we don't exist," said Andrea, 27.

Greece gets fresh cash on road to leaving bailout

Digital Journal – AFP, Danny Kemp, 22 January 2018

New Eurogroup Portuguese President Mario Centeno rang a symbolic bell as he

presided over his first Eurogroup finance ministers meeting. EMMANUEL DUNAND, AFP

Eurozone finance ministers approved a fresh cash injection for Greece on Monday to put the country on the road to finally leaving its long and painful bailout programme later this year.

They also said they would start work on possible debt relief for Athens, despite reservations on the part of powerful Germany which has pushed a more austere line.

The new 6.7-billion-euro tranche agreed by ministers in Brussels is the latest from Greece's third financial rescue package since 2010, when its debt crisis brought the euro close to collapse.

The current programme agreed in 2015 runs until August this year, after which the southern European nation hopes to fully return to market financing and get back on its own two feet.

EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said 2018 "will be a decisive year for Greece".

"This will be the year when Greece finally leaves this long period of financial assistance, marked by very hard tests for the Greek people, but which allow Greece to emerge stronger and more resilient," France's Moscovici told a news conference.

Portugal's Mario Centeno -- chairing his first meeting of the Eurogroup of 19 finance ministers from the single currency -- said they would also start "technical work" on "debt relief measures" for Athens.

Greece's huge debt pile is equivalent to an unsustainable 180 percent of its annual economic output.

'Things have turned around'

Greek finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos -- a key figure in the 2015 bailout negotiations that nearly saw Greece crash out of the euro -- said it was a "very good meeting" for his country.

"People are now convinced that things have turned around, and people are beginning to talk about the future and Greece's exit from the programme," he told reporters.

The mention of debt relief was "particularly significant"," he added.

The latest tranche will be split into 5.7 billion euros paid in February and the remaining one billion paid later in the spring once eurozone officials have checked that Greece has carried out all the reforms, the Eurogroup said in a statement.

Centeno, chairing his first Eurogroup for the first time after replacing Jeroen Dijssebloem of the Netherlands, said the cash would cover debt servicing, arrears and boosting Greece's cash reserves ahead of the end of the bailout, said Centeno.

"This is critical to ensure Greece's full market access," he added.

Thousands of people demonstrated in Athens one week ago against the set of around 100 austerity measures imposed by Greece's creditors, which include a politically-charged curb on industrial action.

The reforms also allow for the foreclosure and auction of properties owned by bankrupted borrowers. Both measures were fiercely opposed by leftists and trade unions.

The Greek government insists that the changes are limited, and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras rejected criticism "as a shameless lie" that his left-wing administration was out to make strikes illegal.

Debt-laden Greece has received three multi-billion-euro bailouts since 2010.

The current rescue programme -- a package worth 86 billion euros agreed after months of talks that almost saw Greece crash out of the euro -- is financially supported by eurozone states but not the International Monetary Fund.

Pope says some refugee centres 'concentration camps'

Yahoo – AFP, Angus MACKINNON, April 22, 2017

Pope Francis blesses the crowd as he leaves the Basilica of St. Bartholomew
 on Tiber Island after the Liturgy of the Word with the Community of Sant’Egidio
 in memory of the "New Martyrs" of the 20th and 21th century, on April 22,
 2017 in Rome (AFP Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

Rome (AFP) - Pope Francis on Saturday described some of Europe's refugee centres as "concentration camps" as he paid tribute to an unknown Christian woman slain for her faith in front of her Muslim husband.

"These refugee camps -- so many are concentration camps, crowded with people... because international accords seem more important than human rights," Francis said in impromptu remarks at a ceremony in memory of modern day Christian martyrs.

Departing from his prepared script and appearing unusually emotional as he spoke, the 80-year-old pontiff said he wanted the woman to be remembered along with all the other martyrs commemorated in Rome's Basilica of St Bartholomew.

He revealed that he had met the woman's husband during his visit to a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos last year.

"I do not know what happened to him, if he managed to get out of his concentration camp, and get to somewhere else" Francis said, describing the man as a father-of-three but not revealing his nationality.

"He looked at me and said 'Father, I am a Muslim and my wife was a Christian. In our country we were terrorised ... they saw her crucifix and they asked her to throw it away.

"When she refused they cut her throat in front of my eyes. We loved each other so much."

Saturday's service at the Basilica located on an island in the Tiber river that separates most of Rome from the Vatican, was also addressed movingly by Roselyne Hamel.

She is the sister of Jacques Hamel, the 85-year-old priest murdered by jihadists last year as he was celebrating mass in his church in Normandy in northern France.

"At his age, Jacques was frail but he was strong in his faith in Christ, strong in love for the Gospel," Roselyne Hamel said.

Describing her sibling as "a universal brother," she said she was certain his love for humanity would even have extended to his killers.

Other speakers included Francisco Hernandez, a friend of William Quijano, an organiser of "Schools for Peace" in El Salvador and a victim of gang violence in 2009, and Karl Schneider, son of Paul Schneider, a protestant pastor who died in the Nazi death camp at Buchenwald.

The Basilica where Saturday's service took place is home to a large collection of relics of Christian martyrs across the ages, including recently added momentoes of Schneider, Quijano and Hamel.

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Greece agrees reforms to break bailout impasse

Yahoo – AFP, Alex PIGMAN with John HADOULIS in Athens, 7 April 2017

Greece cedes to reform demands to snap bailout impasse

Greece agreed on a fresh set of reforms with its eurozone creditors on Friday with hopes that Athens could unlock bailout cash in time to avert a debt default just months away.

Eurozone finance ministers meeting in the Maltese capital of Valletta said Athens agreed in principle to the new reforms and technical teams would visit Greece as soon as possible to seal the deal.

"The big blocks have now been sorted out and now we just have the final stretch," Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said after the talks.

Heavily-indebted Athens and the EU and IMF which handle the bailout have been deadlocked over reforms for months amid disagreements on debt relief and budget targets.

The deal is needed in order to stop the country from defaulting on its creditors as early as July, when Athens owes about seven billion euros ($7.4 billion) in debt repayments.

Dijsselbloem said the Greek government was now prepared to reduce pensions in 2019 and lower tax breaks in 2020 in return for a bailout payment despite widespread public opposition.

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said the commitments would pass through parliament as soon as possible, though the gamble depends on his Syriza party's razor-thin majority.

'Before summer'

Tsakalotos said his eurozone counterparts had also accepted that Greece boost social spending if budget targets were met and that debt relief would also come back to the table.

"We will be ready for all the pieces of the puzzle to fit in for the discussion on debt," said Tsakalotos, for whom debt relief is a key demand.

"I think we will have (a solution) well before summer," he added.

The eurozone is under big pressure to end the feud in order to avert inflicting damage to a stalling Greek recovery.

Despite projections for growth, the Greek economy actually stalled in 2016 and recent data shows that after some stabilisation, it has begun to falter again amid uncertainty triggered by the row.

"Greece needs this; we must end the uncertainties that are scaring investors," EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said.

The sketch of a deal was a victory of sorts for Dijsselbloem who visited Brussels and Berlin ahead of Friday's talks in hopes of finding a compromise.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had until now refused to accept any commitments beyond the term of its current bailout that is due to end in 2018, arguing that his government would not have the votes in parliament.

The impasse has held up the latest instalment of Greece's 86-billion-euro ($92-billion) bailout, agreed in 2015 with the 19 countries that use the single currency.

Without a deal in Malta, Tsipras said he would ask for a eurozone leaders summit later this month, and made his case in a phone call to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe's most powerful leader.

IMF row

Also pressing matters is a desire by eurozone ministers to present a united front to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) later this month at the fund's annual meetings in Washington.

The Europeans have been at loggerheads with the IMF over the Washington-based lender's demands for more realistic budget targets and firm commitments to reduce Greece's mountain of debt.

An agreement among eurozone ministers would go a long way towards getting the IMF on board as a financial partner in the bailout, a major demand of Germany, Greece's biggest lender.

The IMF has so far stayed out of the current rescue, Greece's third since 2010.

Obama in Europe urges 'course correction' on globalisation

Yahoo – AFP,  Jerome Cartillier with John Hadoulis in Athens, November 16, 2016

Berlin (AFP) - US President Barack Obama arrived in Berlin Wednesday for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on a European tour aimed at reassuring key allies about transatlantic ties under his successor Donald Trump.

On the final leg of a European farewell tour, Obama touched down in the German capital from Athens where he delivered a sweeping speech warning of the dangers to modern democracy.

The US leader acknowledged that globalisation had fuelled a "sense of injustice" and needed a "course correction" to address growing inequality.

"The global path of globalisation demands a course correction," Obama, 55, said in Athens.

"When we see people, global elites, wealthy corporations seemingly living by a different set of rules, avoiding taxes, manipulating loopholes... this feeds a profound sense of injustice," he added.

However, his remarks also contained a ringing defence of democracy, open markets and social inclusiveness.

"I firmly believe that the best hope for human progress remains open markets, combined with democracy and human rights," the outgoing president said.

Trump welcomed Britain's shock vote in June to leave the European Union (EU) and has been a critic of global free trade agreements.

But Obama argued that "when people have opportunity and they feel confidence in the future, they are less likely to turn on each other and less likely to appeal to some of the darker forces that exist in all our societies, those that can tear us apart".

European governments, especially eastern countries close to Russia's orbit, have been shaken after Trump appeared to call into question Washington's near 70-year security guarantee by saying he would only help NATO allies if they paid their way.

In comments Tuesday, Obama cautioned the world must guard against "a rise in a crude sort of nationalism or ethnic identity or tribalism that is built around an 'us' and a 'them'".

US President Barack Obama assured NATO allies, "In good times, and in 

bad, Europe can count on the United States" (AFP Photo/Janek Skarzynski)

'My closest partner'

Obama has been at pains to stress that Europe -- and NATO -- would remain the cornerstone of US foreign policy.

"Today more than ever, the world needs a Europe that is strong and prosperous and democratic," he said.

The US-led NATO grouping is "absolutely vital" to US interests and a strong, unified Europe was good for America and the world, the president said in comments aimed at calming old partners' fears.

"We know what happens when Europeans start dividing themselves up... the 20th century was a bloodbath," he said pointedly on Tuesday.

Obama has described Merkel as "probably... my closest international partner these last eight years."

During his time in Berlin, he will also meet the leaders of Britain, France, Spain and Italy, as Europe desperately seeks clues to future US policy in a Trump world.

While Obama was generally been welcomed in Greece, his visit was also met with street protests.

Around 2,500 people brandishing banners denouncing US "imperialism" and calling Obama a "persona non grata" were pushed back on Tuesday as they tried to breach barriers and reach the city centre, with police firing tear gas and stun grenades.

But elsewhere Athenians young and old waited patiently in line to catch a glimpse of the leader on his last foreign trip as president.

"It's fantastic to be here," said 17-year-old pupil Anais Karayanis. "He has plenty of things to teach us, advice to give. I would have come to see Trump as well, but only out of pure curiosity because I don't support him."

Betty Kazakopoulos, a PR consultant in her 60s, said Obama was "a man I admire. Perhaps the last of the great American leaders."

Greece's 'extraordinary compassion'

During his visit to the cradle of democracy, Obama has also touched on issues that have shaken Greek society -- a dramatic influx of migrants fleeing war and poverty and a crippling financial crisis.

He lauded Greek islanders' "extraordinary compassion" for the hundreds of thousands of people who have landed on their shores since the start of Europe's worst migrant crisis since World War II.

And he pledged support for its economy, as Greek leaders seek a fresh US pledge to help alleviate the country's enormous public debt, a measure actively sought by the International Monetary Fund but opposed by leading European lender Germany.

"In my message to the rest of Europe, I will continue to emphasise our view that austerity alone cannot deliver prosperity," Obama told Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

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"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Human Nature is Changing

There's a new concept afoot, a change in Human nature. We've spoken about this before. How many of you studied European history? And in school, did your mind fill up with all of the dates you had to memorize? Who conquered whom and when? Over and over and over, every single country had their turn conquering another country. Borders moved constantly. As far back as you want to go, that's what Humans did. They separated, gathered, and conquered. But as little as 50 years ago, it all stopped.

We've said this before. Fifty years ago, a seed, an idea, was planted at the end of World War II. "Let's put these European countries together," they said. "Let's even drop the borders and eventually give them one currency." Do this and they'll never war again, they predicted, for countries with common economic sources don't go to war! And that's exactly what's happened. Did it work? It's fairly fresh, but their money is threatening to take over the strength of your money, did you notice? It's worth more than yours. They still struggle to make it work and balance it. But then again, you do the same in the United States, always fine tuning the unity.

South America is considering the same thing right now. The seeds are being planted in Brazil. Within a generation, they would love to see the borders dropped and one currency. Can they do it? Perhaps. Perhaps it will take longer. Why do it? Because they see the European Union with the strongest currency on Earth. We've said this before. Here is a prediction: Perhaps not in your time, but there'll come a day when there are only five currencies in the world, because continents will start understanding that unification creates peace and prosperity. Separation creates chaos. What a concept. …”

"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“…The Illuminati

One more. "Kryon, what about the Illuminati?" OK, I'll tell you, for these things are already known by many.

Everything you thought about the Illuminati of the past is correct. This was not conspiracy, but fact. However, in the light of what I just said above, it could not sustain itself in an energy where everyone talks to everyone, and has since gone dormant.

The Illuminati was based in Greece, and it started by controlling the most potent economic attribute that could manipulate the strings of commerce on the earth - shipping. Once they had control of shipping, what followed was financial markets. This, then, worked its way to insurance, world stock markets and banking. This was prevalent for decades, right up to the mid '80s.

I have a question for the elders in the room. Look back in your lifetime, dear ones. What was the stock market like when you were younger? If you remember, you will say it had incremental changes up and down, except for occasional major shifts - which, by the way, were also controlled. It was steady, up or down. It didn't vacillate wildly, with hundreds of point-shifts from month to month. It never did. That's what a controlled market looks like. Now take a look at your current stock market. Does it look controlled? It is not! It is free-wheeling and it can go wherever it is driven by normal financial activity.

This should tell you something, dear ones. The Illuminati is no longer in control. It lost in banking, in tobacco, and it's about to lose in big pharma and insurance because awareness lets people know what is controlled and what is not. Awareness of truth will trump any other energy, and integrity will win some major battles.

So, did the Illuminate die? No. They simply lost their method of control.

The Future of the Illuminati

Now, I want to tell you something that you didn't expect and something I've reported only one other time. What about all of the money that the Illuminati has? There are trillions and trillions of euro in banks, under their control, waiting. What are they going to do with it and where are they going to use it? It's still here. They're waiting.

This group is waiting for something to happen that they know is going to happen, for they see it coming as much as I do. However, I would like to tell you something that they don't expect. With awareness comes generational shift. Those in charge of this money will not always be elders. The indigos eventually will have it.

They are waiting for something to happen in Africa - the building of a new civilization, a continent that has nothing to unlearn. Once Africa is cured, once it's ready, a new civilization can be created from the ground up. Africans will be ready to learn everything about building a foundation for the most advanced civilization ever and will do it with the most modern and inventive systems available. Eventually, this new continent will even beat the economics of China.

This is the prediction and always has been, and the Illuminati's money will fund it. Did I say the Illuminati will fund it? [Kryon laugh]The Illuminati's money will fund it, but there is a difference from the past, dear ones. The ones who inherit the positions in the Illuminati will be a different consciousness. Listen, they are not suddenly going to be the ones who have the good of everyone in their hearts - hardly. They want to make money, but what they will see instead is a way to make a great deal of money through this investment. In the process, it will automatically help hundreds of thousands, and they will be at the beginning, the foundation, that builds the new Africa. The new African states of unification eventually will create a continent stronger than any of the others, and it will have one currency. The resources alone will dwarf anything in the world.

"Wow, Kryon, how long is that going to take?"

The Humans in the room control that and those listening later and reading. When you leave this room, what are you going to do? Go home, report this, rub your hands together, and wait for it to happen? It won't. For the Humans in the room and the old souls hearing and reading have got work to do, and I've told you this before. You've got work to do.

There's an alliance that you're going to have to create with one another and with another group - the young people of Earth. The youth of this earth are changing the way things work. Can you see it? You're not supposed to sit around and watch them either, because they need you, old soul.

It's time for you to align with the indigos and the concepts of the youth of the planet. Do not think for a moment that their age shows their wisdom. These two attributes are not commensurate with one another; they're not linear. These young people may be older souls than you are! Don't think that because they've got technology that you don't understand that you can't be one with them. Their technology is social networking, the very thing we are talking about, where everyone can talk to everyone. The new consciousness on the planet starts in two areas - the children and the old souls.

Conclusion

This is the message of the day. The recalibration of awareness is going to change systems, education, government and finance. Those who don't choose to be spiritual at all will still move with a new awareness, for they will be aware of something that they are not aware of now - a softer way of living.

We close with a trite statement that we've given before, but that many have stated in jest: "If women ran the world, they would never send their sons to be killed on a battlefield."

Many laugh. How trite, how simple minded. Indeed, there have been women leaders who have put wars together; they had to. They sent their sons, so that's not really a correct statement. However, it's more right than you may think, dear ones.

So now I will make the statement I have made over and over in these recalibrated channellings: "When recalibrated Humans run the world, there will come a day when they will never send their sons into the battlefield." You see, awareness will change all of that. They will eventually see the wisdom of unification, new ways to settle issues, and the intuitive attribute of putting things together instead of tearing them apart.

There will be a time when government armies will not need to be large, and weapons will not be as powerful. Slowly, government won't need them. Slowly, slower than you want, these things will happen as the old soul carries his light and looks at the masters of the planet and emulates them.

You've all heard it: There will come a time when the masters will come back to Earth, and there are many who are waiting for this. However, it has already happened! They couldn't come back until the alignment was right and now it is right. This is what you are feeling in 2012 and beyond. It's starting to happen, and they're back. But they're not back as corporeal Human Beings. They're back as the energy of recalibrating of the awareness of God.

I wouldn't say these things unless they were true. Watch for these things, dear ones. Remember where you heard them first and when some of them start to occur in your news. And when you see the earth working in this fashion, dear one, maybe you'll realize that what I have given today is real.

Be circumspect. There is no perfect timing. Humans will create all this at their own pace. Do not be in fear of the things that might follow, for I say it yet again that the old energy will show itself soon in survival mode and it won't be pretty.

In this beginning of new energy, stand tall and turn on your light. Darkness will shirk before you. That is the truth of the day.

I am Kryon, in love with humanity.

And so it is.

Kryon