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Britain's coalition government, starting from the
Prime Minister, has launched an unprecedented
effort. A year ago, in our Policy Paper on Trade
and Investment we laid out the strategy that is
being pursued since then by the entire govern-
ment, including British trade missions all over the
world. We are supporting British enterprises,
including SMEs, to start exporting, or expand their
exports, to emerging markets. We are approach-
ing foreign investors and promoting certain proj-
ects. In addition, we are working within interna-
tional organizations to establish new free market
economies. One year later, some progress has
been made, but as Lord Green, the British Minister
for Trade has aptly stated, this is “a marathon, not
a sprint”.
However, in the case of member-states such as
Greece and Britain, growth requires proper policies
and actions on the EU level. With more than 24 mil-
lion unemployed, growth has to be on top of our
European priorities. This is the reason why in the
run-up to the recent summit, the British Prime
Minister David Cameron and other European lead-
ers from all corners of Europe, from the
Netherlands and Poland to Italy, Spain and
Portugal, presented an action plan for growth.
Further to this initiative, the Summit agreed on
implementing a set of specific measures, including:
● An action plan for the single market for servic-
es and the digital economy
● Measures for the opening of regulated profes-
sions throughout Europe
● Specific deregulation targets per sector, along
with a clear schedule and targeted actions for
reducing SME regulation
● Explicit commitment to completing energy mar-
ket integration by June 2014
● A clear intention of the EU to sign free trade
agreements with third countries and regions.
This is a clear-cut plan, based on specific actions,
and resulting from an unprecedented concurrence
of opinion among member-states. Britain will keep
on working hard, together with our partners, in
order to make these commitments a reality.
Some people may wonder: what is the relevance
of all these things for Greece, given the specific
challenges it is facing? An answer would be to
compare Greece to Britain. Both countries have
an outward-looking commercial tradition. Although
the conditions are different, both Greece and
Britain are faced with the challenge of reorienting
part of their economic activity. Emphasizing on
growth issues, both on the national and European
levels, can help achieve this aim. The initiatives
that the EU has agreed to take can provide assis-
tance to both existing and start-up companies in
Greece, as well as in Britain. And, thanks to their
pan-European character, these initiatives can also
encourage bilateral business partnerships. So, I
hope that Greece will enthusiastically support
these efforts.
I have stressed the importance of deeds over
words. And this is true for me, as well as for the
British Embassy. We want to work with Greek
enterprises on jointly shaping European initiatives.
We also bring together Greek and British enter-
prises, and support efforts aimed at the improve-
ment of the business environment that will also
foster cooperation between British and Greek
enterprises.
Of course, it would be impossible to conclude this
article without any reference to the London 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Games. We want to
make sure that the Games will bring together not
only athletes, but also entrepreneurs. Leading
Greek companies will participate in this summer's
Business Conferences in London. Everybody is
welcome to participate through the British
Business Club (www.britishbusinessclub.org). Or,
more simply put, contact us – we are waiting for
you.
Trade with Greece
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