Problems for Greece in E.E.C.

Press, 8 July 1983, Page 12

Problems for Greece in E.E.C.

By

YOUSSEF AZMEH,

of Reuters, in Athens

Greece assumed the presidency of the European Community for the first time on July 1 under a socialist . Government which no longer seriously questions its membership of the 10-nation bloc. Greek attitudes to the Community remain ambivalent, but officials say privately that withdrawal is no longer on the cards after 20 months in the community. Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou’s Government was unlikely to say so publicly while negotiations for better terms continued, they said. Despite persistent uneasiness about the short-term problems of membership, integration had already started and it would be difficult for Greece to pull out. Greece joined the Community two years ago under terms, negotiated by a conservative Government, which have since come under criticism both in Athens and Brussels, diplomats said. Mr Papandreou told visiting journalists here that other mem-

bers of the Community were showing a better understanding of Greek problems and he hoped some would be resolved in the next six months. The Greek Prime Minister would not rule out a referendum on membership, promised by his Pasok Party in its election campaign. Other Ministers have tried to wriggle out of the commitment by saying a referendum would be blocked by President Constantine Karamanlis, a former conservative Prime Minister and a long-time champion of community member- , ship. Greek Ministers said their country would not use the presidency, which Greece takes over on a rotating basis for a six-month stint, to promote their national cause, but would continue to press national demands in the normal way.

These include a delay in the full integration of Greece into the Community to allow its lessdeveloped economy and institutions to adjust. Mr Papandreou said he had

asked for special arrangements because full integration of a country so different from the Community average would have serious consequences for Greece. Greek problems were acknowledged at the Community’s midJune Stuttgart summit. The summit communique said European leaders were conscious of the special economic and social problems of Greece and promised to find solutions in time for the next summit, due to be held in Athens on December 5 and 6.

Athens wants to protect its fledgling industry, where more than 85 per cent of companies employ fewer than five people, and to give it State aid without fear of prosecution under the Community’s competition rules. It also wants a special deal for its primitive farm sector under the Community’s Common Agriculture Policy, substantial help from the social and regional funds, and aid to modernise its bureaucracy to cope with Community regulations. The Agriculture Minister, Constantine Simitis, said that his country was often not even in a position to take advantage of benefits available from the Community.

He said for example that when the Community offered to finance farm development for an area meant for 8000 to 10,000 farmers, only 11 were thought by Athens to fit the criteria, and only four of those were acceptable to Brussels.

Even those Greeks who can benefit from the system are penalised by their country’s slow moving administration. Cash-hungry farmers eligible for Community subsidies have to wait six months for their paperwork to reach Brussels. A Dutch farmer faces a delay of only 15 days, officials said.

In the meantime, other Community countries are taking advantage of the partial lifting of trade barriers to flood Greece with their products. Mr Simitis said that Greece had a small surplus in its farm trade with the Community when it joined in 1981, but this had now turned into a large deficit. Greece paid 10 billion drachmas (about $184.95 million) more for farm imports from the rest of the Community last year than it exported to it and this was expected to double this year, he added. Although officials in Athens con-

tinually stressed to visiting journalists the problems arising from Community membership, none of them would condemn it or evaluate its pluses and minuses. They criticise the terms imposed on Greece when it joined and Brussels officials now admit it was unrealistic to expect Greece to fit in comfortably after a short period of associate membership. However, some benefits for Greece are already apparent. Greece last year took $650 million more out than it put into the Community, accounting for 1.8 per cent of its gross domestic product. This compares with 0.3 per cent for Belgium and a negative 0.4 per cent for Britain, diplomats said. Greek accession was rushed for political reasons as the rest of the Community wanted to tie it firmly to the Western alliance, diplomats said.

With the coming to power of the Left-wing Government, there was even more reason to tighten those ties, but Mr Papandreou is proving less astringent in government than he was outside, they added.