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Global orientation, productivity and realistic management of the National
Strategic Development Plan (NSDP). The challenges for 2007
Like every year, 2007 will be full of challenges for the Greek economy.
During this year enterprises will be faced with a great need to adapt to
the new business environment.
The basic – and perhaps only – challenge for the country’s economy in
2007 is the achievement of high growth rates and the concurrent
improvement of the country’s international competitiveness. Up until
today, the situation was reversed, and this constitutes one of the most
difficult questions regarding the course of the Greek economy.
Traditionally, the Greek economy is characterised by the low coverage of
its imports by its exports. The study of the relevant index’ tendency
over the years presents a deterioration, which has negative effects on
the course of our trade balance. In order to reduce the gap between
imports and exports, it is necessary to improve the domestic business
environment for the purpose of facilitating business activities.
However, which are the main components of the business environment that
require immediate improvement?
1. bureaucracy in dealings between enterprises and the state,
2. the labour relations regime,
3. the legislative framework on entrepreneurship, and
4. the current tax regime.
The next challenge that will have to be faced in 2007 is related to
productivity, which constitutes a basic factor of domestic and
international competitiveness. Over the last years, investments in
Greece have been increasing, while at the same time a high degree of
productivity has been maintained. However, a significant factor that
contributes to the improvement of productivity, namely the technological
modernisation of enterprises, has not yet acquired a self-preserving
dynamism. Productivity, on the basis of man hours, is practically half
of the EU-15 average.
Before I conclude, I would like to refer to the great - perhaps the
greatest, especially for regional development – challenge of 2007: this
concerns the actions to be taken in the next Programming Period
(National Strategic Reference Framework 2007–2013). The greatest
challenge is to avoid the loss of valuable resources for the region from
the total budget of the NSRF. We hope that the decisions that have been
made will remedy the weaknesses of the 2000-2006 period, the most
important of which were:
The
existence of many managing authorities, which on the one hand led to the
fragmentation of interventions, and on the other hand caused
coordination problems.
The
project control system was bureaucratic, often leading to clientelism;
it was also highly dispersed and this resulted in huge operating costs.
The
involvement of more than two agencies in the policy-making process in
one sector. This underlined problems in the coordination of agencies,
which resulted in serious problems and complications in the
implementation of development policies.
The
programmes were fragmented into small projects, of questionable
development prospects; these projects, in most cases, did not constitute
integrated development interventions.
Especially with regard to public works, the situation is well-known:
multiple fragmentations of small projects, which were neither completed
within the set time-frame, nor within the estimated budget, and the
quality of which was not suitable. On the other hand, those that were
completed, were either not functional, or were put into action after
long delays, perhaps due to the lack of permits or of provisions for the
coverage of their operating expenses.
The huge
bureaucracy due to the large number of beneficiaries leads to enormous
administrative costs and the loss of momentum and financial resources in
terms of its management, without any results.
In the end, I believe that we have the opportunity to learn from the
management deficiencies that existed during the previous programming
period. I also believe that as a nation we have come to realise that any
loss of resources from now on is a luxury we cannot afford. Therefore I
am optimistic that we can hope for the better utilisation of Community
funds from this year until 2013 for the benefit of the country’s
development...
Previous President's Messages
Zero profits for processing industries in Northern Greece in 2010, with one in three businesses reporting losses
Only daring decisions will take the country out of this impasse
The Federation’s Proposals for development
The need to take measures to immediately bolster the economy and improve business competitiveness
A new year – new expectations for growth and development
Developmental measures to offset unemployment benefits with job subsidies
Enhancing "Greek Value" by resolving problems that drag on
Greece’s rise in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook ranking is encouraging news amidst the crisis
The Federation of Industries of Northern Greece making a decisive contribution to manufacturing strategy up to 2020
The government's immediate priorities in 2010 to develop the infrastructure in Thessaloniki and boost the competitiveness of manufacturing enterprises
Expectations from the new government: the manufacturing sector should be the new government’s focus
Industry should be among the Government’s policy priorities
Industry centre stage again
Proposals for avoiding the financial crisis
Bold decision-making for avoiding the financial crisis
Prospects for growth in Northern Greece in an environment of international crisis
Investment Law and Northern Greece
The market of izmir: the next goal for outward-looking enterprises of
northern greece
The
new government’s aspirations for thessaloniki and northern greece:
fing’s proposals for development
Thessaloniki and Northern Greece in International Markets
Regional
development policy as an engine for local industrial development
Global
orientation, productivity and realistic management of the National
Strategic Development Plan (NSDP). The challenges for 2007
Investment Law and Northern Greece
The new
legislative framework for research and technology in Greece: a
government nod of approval for the proposals made by the Federation of
Industries of Northern Greece (FING)
Thessaloniki has the potential to become the second pole of development
for Greece and the headquarters for development organizations nationwide
Changing
attitudes to combat unemployment – Proposals for creating closer links
between education and production
Support
for the Regions: From now on, policy actions and not just policy
announcements
The
business community – a force for social cohesion in Northern Greece
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