the country enjoyed a rather high per capita
income and was ranked between the 25th and
29th places worldwide. The Greek economy was
now a full member of the Economic and
Monetary Union (EMU), by having succeeded,
Trade with Greece
60
during the previous year, to advance its eco-
nomic and developmental transformation.
Pursuing an economic policy focused on stabi-
lization, growth and social cohesion, the Greek
economy had now entered a phase of strong
growth, low inflation and long-term fiscal and
macroeconomic balance.
Accession history
Greece became officially a member of the EEC
on January 1st, 1981, amidst serious objections
regarding the usefulness of its membership for
the single economic community market. The shift
of the political culture was painful and prolonged,
since, apart from the internal problems, there
were also serious objections by the leaders of the
dominant European states. The memories of the
consequences of the Second World War had not
yet faded away, while, during the first post-war
decades, the EEC had been constantly changing
character, a fact that caused serious delays in the
integration process. The Treaty of Rome, which
was signed in March 1957, led to the creation of
the EEC (European Economic Community) and
the EURATOM (European Atomic Energy
Community), which had been preceded by the
Paris treaty for the formation of the ECSC
(European Coal and Steel Community) in April
1951. The Merger Treaty concerning these three
Communities was signed in July 1967; the
Communities remained legally independent, but
consolidated their Councils of Ministers and High
Authorities into a single Council of the European
Communities. Although post-war Greek govern-
ments had played a key role in regard to the
European ideal, Greece failed to be included in
the first group of community states, owing to the
Dictatorship. However, it achieved this goal sev-
eral years later, although it had to face many
adversities, given that it was isolated –at least in
geographical terms– from the rest of Europe. The
flag of Europe was adopted in 1986, along with
the Single European Act, which effectively
advanced the single market. In contrast to what
was happening within the country, the Greek
leaders that participated in European forums took
major decisions that were informed by solidarity
and humanism, decisively helping tear down
many walls, especially those of the erstwhile
“Eastern bloc”.
Today, they are once again called to play a key role
and shake off the yoke of the economic crisis,
which is unrelentingly hitting the vulnerable groups
of society, swelling the ranks of the jobless and
undermining manufacturing and trading activity.
