Greece Background Informaiton based on Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, August 2004 (Greece/Greek/Crete/Creta/Kriti):

Background Note: Greece
 

PROFILE OFFICIAL NAME:
Hellenic Republic

European Union (EU) Membership
Greece has realigned its economy as part of an extended transition to full EU membership that began in 1981. Greece assumed the rotating EU presidency in the first half of 2003. Greek businesses continue to adjust to competition from EU firms, and the government has had to liberalize its economic and commercial regulations and practices. Greece has been granted waivers from certain aspects of the EU's 1992 single-market program. Greece has been a net beneficiary of the EU budget; in 2003 EU transfers accounted for 2.8% of GDP. From 1994-99, about $20 billion in EU structural funds were spent on projects to modernize and develop Greece's transportation network in time for the Olympics in 2004. The centerpiece was the construction of the new international airport near Athens, which opened in March 2001 soon after the launch of the new Athens subway system. EU transfers to Greece, under the third Community Support Framework Program, are to phase out over the next decade, when the last of some $24 billion in structural funds are disbursed by 2006. These funds contribute significantly to Greece's current accounts balance and further reduce the state budget deficit. EU funds will continue to finance major public works and economic development projects, upgrade competitiveness and human resources, improve living conditions, and address disparities between poorer and more developed regions of the country. A new support program may be implemented in the future.

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