C
onsequently, a question is raised regard-
ing the position of Greece within this
environment. Indeed, we have to deter-
mine where we are and what steps forward we
need to take, in order to secure a competitive
position worldwide, in a field where as a nation we
have demonstrated an excellent performance
since ancient times.
The latest news, in the form of the World Bank’s
“Doing Business 2014” report, sound very
encouraging, since Greece climbed another 6
places this year, on top of the 22-places it
improved last year. We are pleased to see that
our structural reforms programme produced tan-
gible results in some really key areas that are
related either directly or indirectly to trade: start-
ing a business, protecting investors and simplify-
ing procedures for trading across borders. More
specifically last year:
●A new corporate form was introduced, which
requires no minimum capital for its establish-
ment, constituting a key step in the creation of
a more friendly business environment.
●Further protection is now provided to investors
via a regulated approval of related-party trans-
actions.
●The simplification of pre-registration and regis-
tration formalities combined with the electronic
submission and processing of customs docu-
ments are two fundamental actions that signifi-
cantly facilitate our ability to trade across bor-
ders.
Greece now emerges as a more appealing busi-
ness destination. The progress achieved so far is
also evident in the increase of the extroversion
index: our exports in the 1st half of 2013 corre-
spond to 15.4% of GDP compared to 13.7% in the
same period of 2012, a fact that brings us closer
to our target of having exports account for 16% of
GDP by 2015.
Notwithstanding the achievements recorded dur-
ing the previous year, our efforts for the year
ahead will be further intensified. As of the begin-
ning of the year 2014, “Enterprise Greece”, a
newly formed organization, will be operative
under the merger of “Invest in Greece S.A.” (IiG),
Trade with Greece
38
2014 will be a
Considerably Better and
Certainly more Rewarding
Year
By Panagiotis (Notis) Mitarachi, Deputy Minister of Development
& Competitiveness
Some weeks ago, at the end of 2013, the WTO
Summit was held in Indonesia. Despite the
different approaches and beliefs, one issue
prevailed on all sides: that there is a clear
upward trend in international trade.
