Travel

greece flagGreece Country Brief

Bilateral Relations

Greece and Australia enjoy a close and constructive relationship based on strong community ties. Large numbers of Greeks migrated to Australia during the 1950s and 1960s; the 2006 Census records 109,989 Greece-born migrants, and 365,147 people of Greek ancestry living in Australia (based on country of birth of parents). Some estimates suggest the Greek community in Australia could be as large as 600,000. The Greek population is concentrated in Melbourne (41 per cent) and Sydney (30 per cent). Melbourne, Sister City to Thessaloniki, has been claimed to be the third largest ‘Greek city’ in the world and is an important overseas centre of Hellenism.

The strong community links between Greece and Australia are a major focus of Australian Government business in Greece, and so, therefore, is the provision of consular services. Each summer there are around 100,000 Australians in Greece, dropping to around 40,000 in the winter months. Many of these are dual nationals. Frequent cultural exchanges take place, often between specific communities in both countries. Several Aegean and Ionian Island communities migrated in large numbers to Australia after WWII (for example, more Kastellorizians and Kytherians live in Australia than on their home islands). Nowadays their descendants are reinvigorating the bilateral relationship through frequent travel back to Greece for holidays, study and work. An enduring historical link has resulted from the involvement of Australian troops in the defence of Greece during World War II. During the Battle of Crete (May 1941) Australian soldiers fought alongside troops from Greece, New Zealand and Britain to defend Crete against German invasion. Many were killed and several thousand taken prisoner in a battle that is still commemorated annually.

In 2006-07, two-way trading between Greece and Australia was about A$232 million. 2006-07 Australian exports to Greece were A$70.5 million while imports from Greece were worth A$161.8 million. Australia's key exports to Greece vary considerably from year to year. Confidential items, zinc, and starches and insulin comprised the majority of Australian exports to Greece. Australia's main imports from Greece continue to be aluminium, rubber articles, and vegetables.

After several years of negotiations Australia and Greece signed a Social Security Agreement on 23 May 2007. The Agreement will assist people in both countries to access age and retirement benefits. The Agreement with Greece will commence on 1 October 2008, after administrative arrangements are finalised and all necessary treaty and legal processes are completed in both countries. About 50,000 people in Australia and Greece are estimated to be able to claim a pension from Australia or Greece after the Agreement commences.

Educational links between Australia and Greece are still emerging. Modern Greek is taught in many Australian schools and Modern and Classical Greek Studies are available in some Australian universities, but there is little study of Australia and its region undertaken in Greece.

The Asia-Pacific region has not historically figured prominently in Greece's foreign policy agenda, which focuses on the European Union, the Balkans and its near neighbours (in particular Cyprus and Turkey).

Recent Visits

Political Overview

The current President of Greece, Mr Karolos Papoulias, was sworn in as Greece's sixth President on 12 March 2005, and is serving a five-year term. The President has no powers to initiate legislation and is required to appoint as Prime Minister the leader of the political party with an absolute majority of seats in Parliament. The President must be elected by two-thirds majority or, on the third ballot, by a three-fifths majority. In the event this does not happen, parliament is dissolved and an election is held, whereby the President is elected by a simple majority of members in the new house.

The unicameral parliament consists of 300 members, elected under a system of reinforced proportional representation. Each Parliament is elected for a maximum of four years. In the most recent parliamentary elections (September 2007), the New Democracy party led by Kostas Karamanlis was re-elected with a reduced majority, claiming 152 of the 300 seats in Parliament. The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) remains the principal opposition party although it won only 102 seats in the 2007 elections, the lowest in its history.

Greece is a member of the European Union and last held the Presidency from January to July 2003. In the June 2004 European Parliament elections, the New Democracy party won 43 per cent of the Greek vote (or 11 out of the 24 Greeks seats). Greek voter participation (63 per cent) in the European Parliament elections was slightly higher than the European average.

Greece has a long-established political and cultural relationship with the Republic of Cyprus. Resolution of the Cyprus issue remains a key foreign policy priority of the Greek Government. While the relationship between Greece and Turkey has historically experienced difficulties, in the past few years bilateral cooperation between the two has improved with the establishment of a Greek-Turkish Steering Committee which explores avenues for cooperation in fields such as the economy, trade, tourism, environment, culture and combating crime.

Greece is also keen to establish closer relations with its neighbours in the Balkans. The Government views the Balkans as being of high strategic and economic importance and believes their closer association with the European Union would ensure peace and stability in the region. Balkan states are an important destination for Greek investment.

Economic Overview

Greece has a population of 10.7 million (2007 est) and an estimated GDP per capita of US$21925 (2006 est). Principal export destinations are Germany, Italy and the UK, while main import sources are Germany, Italy and Russia (see Greece - Fact Sheet). As in 2005, in 2006, real GDP growth was estimated to be 3.7 per cent. In 2004, real GDP growth was 4.7 per cent.

The main engine of the Greek economy is the services sector (75.9 per cent of GDP in 2006) although manufacturing accounts for 21 per cent of GDP. Greece has little heavy industry, with the once substantial shipbuilding industry in decline over recent years. The Greek mining industry, which contributes 0.5 per cent of GDP, has been buoyed by the growing demand for mining products by China and Northeast Asia. Principal mining products are bentonite, perlite, caustic and deadburned magnesia, alumina, aluminium bauxite, nickel, pumice and marble.

Greece has long had one of the largest registered merchant marine fleets in the world, constituting around 20 per cent of the world fleet in terms of capacity in deadweight tonnage. Recent growth in global shipping, particularly bulk raw cargo cartage, has benefited the Greek sector. That growth was forecast to continue in 2006 as demand for bulk cargo from China, Korea and India continues to increase. Another major component of the services sector is tourism which is enjoying an upsurge after the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Agriculture is of major socio-economic importance to Greece (3.3 per cent of GDP in 2006), with approximately 12 per cent of the population employed in the sector. The main agricultural products are sugar, wheat, cotton, tobacco, olives and olive oil. Under the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Greek producers of cotton, tobacco and olives, and many other products, receive subsidy assistance. Recent CAP reforms aimed at decoupling farm subsidy levels from production levels are expected to have considerable effect on the agricultural industry, especially on cotton and tobacco growers. The Government has pledged to reform the agriculture industry so as to facilitate CAP reforms.

Last updated: 26/09/2008