← 2019 2018 2017 2020 in Greece → 2021 2022 2023
Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2020 List of years in Greece

Events in the year2020 inGreece.

Photo	Post	Name
	President of the Hellenic Republic	Prokopis Pavlopoulos (until March 13)[1]
	President of the Hellenic Republic	Katerina Sakellaropoulou (starting March 13)[2]
	Prime Minister of Greece	Kyriakos Mitsotakis[3]
	Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament	Konstantinos Tasoulas[4]
	Adjutant of theHellenic Air Force	Lieutenant ColonelDimitrios Papadimitriou
	Adjutant of theHellenic Navy	Nikolaos Patsakis (until March 13)
	Adjutant of theHellenic Navy	Lieutenant CommanderKalliopi Poroglou (starting March 13)[5]
	Adjutant of theHellenic Army	Lieutenant ColonelStefanos Lykopoulos

Ongoing –COVID-19 pandemic in Greece

• January 3 – The country made official protest along with other countries against Turkey's plans to deploy troops to Libya.^[6]
• January 5 –Greece and Israel signed an agreement to build the longest underwater gas pipeline in the world.^[7]
• January 15 –Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis nominatedCouncil of State presidentKaterina Sakellaropoulou to bePresident.^[8]

• February 3 –Police on the island ofLesbos firedtear gas to disperse migrants and refugees protesting about conditions in the camps and the slow pace of processingasylum requests.^[9]
• February 26 – The country confirmed its first COVID-19 case inThessaloniki.^[10]
• February 27 – The country confirmed its second and third cases and cancels allCarnival-related events.^[11]
• February 28 – Nearly 300migrants includingSyrians arrived inEdirne province,Turkey, on the country's border in a bid to go toEurope. Another group of migrants arrived on the coast ofAyvacik inÇanakkale, western Turkey, and wanted to go toLesbos by boats. Turkish officials announced that the security forces will not intervene to prevent the crossing of any migrants, including those from Syria and other countries likeAfghanistan andIran.^[12][13]
• February 29 – Eightymigrants crossed toAegean IslandsLesbos andSamos overnight after Turkey opensits border with the country.^[14]

• March 1 – The country deployed itsmilitary on the border withTurkey to prevent thousands of migrants from entering theEuropean Union, and suspends all asylum applications for a month while also vowing todeport any migrants who enter the country illegally.^[15]
• March 2 –Hellenic Policeborder guards opened fire onmigrants attempting toillegally enter the country by crossing theborder fromTurkey, killing aSyrian man. In addition, theHellenic Army'sIV Army Corps announced a 24-hour snapmilitary drill on the border with Turkey, and warnscivilians to stay away from the area.^[16][17][18]
• March 3 – TheTurkish interior minister announced that over 130,000 refugees had crossed into the country in the past four days.^[19]
• March 10 –Minister of HealthVasilis Kikilias announces that the country's schools and universities will remain closed for two weeks.^[20]
• March 12
  • Authorities reported the country's first COVID-19 death, a 66-year-old pilgrim who visitedEgypt andIsrael last month.^[21]
  • The Olympic torch relay began inOlympia without public attendance. A week later on March 19 theOlympic flame was handed over toJapan.^[22][23]
• March 13 –Katerina Sakellaropoulou was sworn in asPresident in theHellenic Parliament and became the first woman to hold the office, succeedingProkopis Pavlopoulos. Amid theCOVID-19 pandemic in the country, she suspended the protocol ceremony for the inauguration scheduled for Saturday 14 and no handshakes were allowed.^[24][25]
• March 22 –Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis ordered a nationwide lockdown starting March 23.^[26]

• April 26 – Two separate fires at arefugee camp onSamos left around 100 migrants without shelter, with some moved toVathy.^[27]
• April 29 – ACanadianCH-148 Cyclone helicopter went missing while flying over theIonian Sea during aNATO mission. One body was recovered, while the five other persons on board remained missing.^[28][29]

• May 14 –NATOSecretary GeneralJens Stoltenberg said themilitary alliance is "ready to support" theUN-recognizedGovernment of National Accord resulting in strong criticism from the country, which said his recognition of the "Muslim Brotherhood government" does not reflect the positions of the military alliance.^[30][31]

• June 2 –U.S. Secretary of StateMike Pompeo announced sanctions on four shipping firms, including one based in the country, for transporting oil from Venezuela.^[32]

• July 21
  • The country accusedTurkey of encroaching on its territorial waters after aNAVTEX was issued by theTurkish Naval Forces for "seismic surveys" offGreek islands in theMediterranean Sea betweenCyprus andCrete from July 21 to August 2.^[33]
  • The government placed theHellenic Armed Forces on high alert afterTurkish Air Force fighter jets entered Greek airspace overStrongyli Megistis.^[34]

• August 6 – The country signed abilateral agreement with Egypt which established a newexclusive economic zone (EEZ) in theEastern Mediterranean between the two countries. The agreement prompted anger fromTurkey, with the Turkish Foreign Ministry describing the deal as "null and void".^[35][36]
• August 7 –Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan announceshis country will resume energy exploration activities in the easternMediterranean,saying the country had repeatedly violated their agreement on the matter.^[37]
• August 9
  • Eight people are dead afterfloods caused bythunderstorms and torrential rains affectedEvia,Greece. Dozens of people have been evacuated from the area.^[38][39]
  • TheNational Public Health Organization reported 203 new COVID-19 cases in the country in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single day for the country since the pandemic began.^[40]
• August 11 – The country imposed a curfew on bars, restaurants, and cafes in several regions following an increase in COVID-19 cases. The curfew lasts from midnight until 7 am local time.^[41]
• August 13 –France deployed twoDassault Rafale fighter jets and thefrigateLa Fayette to the eastern Mediterranean because oftensions between the country and Turkey over oil and gas exploration in disputed waters. French PresidentEmmanuel Macron says the French military will monitor the situation.^[42]
• August 14 – The country announced that they would limit public gatherings to 50 people and impose a midnight curfew on bars and restaurants inAthens and other areas. This measure is to last until August 24 in parts of the country where infection numbers have risen.^[43]
• August 25 –Manchester United captain andEngland internationalHarry Maguire was given asuspended sentence of 21 months and 10 days in prison by a court in the country for repeated bodily harm, attemptedbribery of police, violence against public employees and insult, following his arrest on the island ofMykonos.^[44]
• August 26
  • The country confirmed 293 new cases in the last 24 hours which is the highest daily spike since the outbreak began in the country. According toNational Public Health Organization, 22 of the new cases were reported at the country's entry points.^[45]
  • TheTurkish Ministry of National Defense revealed that aBarbaros-class frigate of theTurkish Navy and theTCGBurgazada have conductedjoint military exercises with theUSSWinston S. Churchill of theU.S. Navy in theEastern Mediterranean, hours after the country conducted similar exercises withFrance,Italy, andCyprus in thedisputed region.^[46]
• August 27 – TheHellenic Parliament formally ratified amaritime agreement with Egypt, that defines maritime boundaries and anexclusive economic zone between the two countries in theMediterranean Sea.^[47]
• August 28
  • TheMinistry of Citizen Protection announced changes to the country'stravel restrictions, effective August 31 until at least September 19, due to a rise in cases in recent weeks. Changes include requiring visitors from a list of countries to show a negativetest result to enter and a suspension of flights to and fromCatalonia,Spain, but lifting restrictions onthe Netherlands.^[48]
  • TopEU diplomatJosep Borrell threatensTurkey with sanctions unlessit and the country reconcile their differences over maritime borders and gas drilling rights nearCyprus.^[49]
• August 30
  • Turkey demands that the country withdraws itstroops from theAegean island ofKastellorizo, saying it had violated the1947 peace treaty, which called for the formerly Italian-occupied Kastellorizo to be demilitarized, with a recent troop deployment. Thegovernment says the event was a "routine troop rotation".^[50]
  • The number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 10,000.^[51]
• August 31 – FrenchForeign MinisterJean-Yves Le Drian called for a "coordinated European response" to recentTurkish aggression towards the country andCyprus in theEastern Mediterranean, saying "Europe needs to leave the age of innocence behind and shape its own destiny."^[52]

• September 1 – Due to some spikes in cases, authorities delayed the schools' reopening to September 14 in order to allow time for vacationers to return to big cities to limit the movement of asymptomatic people. Students and teachers are told to wear face masks, which will be handed out for free to both public and private schools.^[53]
• September 2 – The country reported the first case in its largestrefugee camp, located on the island ofLesbos.^[54]
• September 9 – Multiple fires erupted in theMória Reception & Identification Centre, the country's largest migrant camp, causing widespread destruction. The fires happen shortly after the entire camp was put underquarantine due to the detection of positiveCOVID-19 cases.^[55]
• September 10
  • The country reports 372 new cases in the last 24 hours, its highest daily tally since the start of the pandemic in the country. From those new cases, 114 were due to an outbreak at a food processing plant in the northern part of the country, with 133 recorded in the greaterAthens area.^[56]
  • French PresidentEmmanuel Macron andGerman ChancellorAngela Merkel agreed to accept into their respective borders around 400unaccompanied minors from theMória Reception & Identification Centre, which had been destroyed by a fire the previous day.^[57]
• September 12 –Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis announced anarms deal with France for the purchase ofDassault Rafalefighter aircraft andFREMM multipurpose frigates, as well as the recruitment of 15,000 additional troops, amid ongoing tension in theeastern Mediterranean.^[58]
• September 15 –Germany agreed to take 1,500 migrants from the country following a devastating fire at theMoria Refugee Camp on the island ofLesbos.^[59]
• September 19 – A rareMediterranean tropical-like cyclone (medicane), with winds up to 120 km/h (75 mph),killed three people as it passes over the country heading toward the island ofCrete. About 5,000 homes inKarditsa, Greece, were affected by flooding and heavy winds. One person is still reported missing.^[60][61]

• October 7 – A court ruled thatfar-rightpolitical partyGolden Dawn operated as acriminal organization in connection with themurder ofanti-fascist rapperPavlos Fyssas in 2013 and other crimes.^[62]
• October 28 - In a parasailing accident 2 British teenagers were killed and another one got injured in Rhodes, Greece.^[63]

• 3 January –Antonis Balomenakis, lawyer and politician, former MP (b. 1954).^[64]
• 21 January –Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke, poet and academic (b. 1939).^[65]
• 29 January –Yannis Tseklenis, fashion designer (b. 1937).^[66]

• 12 February –Nikitas Venizelos, businessman (b. 1930).^[67]
• 14 February –Christophoros, Orthodox prelate (b. 1931).^[68]

• 2 March –Yannis Katsafados, lawyer politician (b. 1935).^[69]
• 13 March –Filippos Petsalnikos, politician (b. 1950).^[70]
• 30 March –Manolis Glezos, resistance activist and politician (b. 1922).^[71]

• 11 April –Periklis Korovesis, journalist and politician (b. 1941).^[72]

• 1 May –Georgios Zaimis, Olympic sailor, gold medalist (b. 1937).^[73]

Wikinews has related news:

• Category: Greece

• 2019 European Parliament election
• History of Greece

• 2020 in Greece
• 2020 by country

• CS1 uses Greek-language script (el)
• CS1 Greek-language sources (el)
• Webarchive template wayback links
• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list
• CS1 Turkish-language sources (tr)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2020