Trade with Greece
1
T
he Union of Hellenic Chambers and the
Athens Chamber of Commerce and
Industry are of the opinion that, under
the light of the crisis that is plaguing the Greek
economy, priority, as far as supporting entrepre-
neurship is concerned, should be given to
strengthening small and medium-sized enterpris-
es, boosting their extroversion and helping them
network with other SMEs from all over the world.
Many of the proposals made by Greece’s cham-
ber community coincide with existing EU priorities
and therefore can be promptly realized, without
requiring –from the part of the Greek presidency–
time-consuming and complex procedures to be
forwarded to, and adopted by, the bodies of the
European Union.
The chambers, fulfilling their institutional role as
advisors to the state in regard to economic policy-
making, have already submitted their proposals to
the Greek government, in order to have them
assessed and forwarded in the first half of 2014,
during the Greek presidency.
These proposals are the following:
●Improvement of SME access to European
financing. This requires consultation with the
EIB for simplifying the procedures of SME lend-
ing through member-state banks (including
loan approvals).
●Intensification of the EU’s efforts for abolishing
any tariff and non-tariff barriers that exist in
non-EU countries.
●Priority to the interests of small enterprises as
far as access to international markets is con-
cerned (signing of agreements as part of the
negotiations on the multilateral WTO
Agreement on Government Procurement).
●Promotion of internationally competitive SME
clusters.
●Promotion of SME internationalization groups
and networks.
●Improvement of the information provided to
SMEs in regard to the financial benefits that
can emerge from international operation, and
are generated through the adoption of commer-
Constantine Michalos,
President of the ACCI,
Vice-President of
Eurochambres
editorial
Supporting Small and
Medium-sized
Enterprises is a
Priority of the Greek
Presidency of the EU
Greece can conduct a very successful presidency of the European
Union. We have the ability and the experience required to promote key
issues, despite any difficulties our country is facing as a result of the
economic crisis.
