Turkish trucks pile up at border gate to Greece

EDIRNE - Anatolia News Agency

Turkish trucks to Greece pass through the İpsala border gate, where the Greek customs officers set a slowdown strike for better life conditions. AA photo

Dozens of trucks were backed up in a two-kilometer line at the Turkish-Greek border yesterday due to a Greek slowdown strike.

Around 80 truck drivers were waiting at the İpsala Border Gate to enter Greece from Turkey when the Hürriyet Daily News went to print yesterday.

The drivers said customs procedures on the Turkish side did not take much time, and the long line of trucks was caused by the strike on the Greek side.

İbrahim Gülen, a truck driver, told Anatolia news agency that Greek customs officials worked very slowly on weekends.

“A truck crosses the Turkish border every three minutes. On the other hand, barely three trucks can pass the Greek border in an hour,” Gulen said. “Greek trucks can enter Turkey with 550 liters of diesel. Turkish trucks willing to enter Greece can only have a maximum amount of 200 liters of diesel. If we carry more than 200 liters of diesel, we are penalized by Greek officials. Turkish trucks have paid thousands of euros in penalties in Greece to date.”

Tuncay Yılmaz, a driver who said he was carrying goods to the city of Kavala in Greece, said, “There have been delays taking place on the Greek side of the border recently.”

Meanwhile, negotiations with its international creditors will continue next week, as the deal on a programme of spending cuts has not yet been sealed, Greek finance ministry said on Oct. 6.

Banking sees ‘super deal’

ATHENS - Agence France-Presse

Greece’s banking sector is bracing for what local media on Oct. 6 called a super deal, following the announcement of the National Bank’s offer to purchase the third-largest lender Eurobank. Late on Oct. 5, the National Bank of Greece (NBG), the country’s top lender, announced a voluntary offer for “all outstanding common registered shares” of Eurobank.

If an agreement is reached, “current NBG and Eurobank shareholders will be represented by 75 percent and 25 percent respectively,” according to the statement, with NBG offering “58 new shares for each 100 shares of Eurobank.” The group will become the country’s new top lender, with combined assets of nearly 177.7 billion euros ($231.7 billion), approximately 104 billion from the NBG and 73.6 billion from Eurobank.

It will be followed by Alpha Bank in second place and Piraeus Bank in third. Greek financial newspaper Naftemporiki on Oct. 6 claimed that NBG and Eurobank were “changing the (banking) map” while Ta Nea talked of a “marriage that will give birth to a giant.” The new group will create an “expanded banking group in Greece.