Crisis-ridden Greece took over the reins of the European Union (1 January) with a record low budget dedicated to its EU presidency of €50 million set as the “absolute maximum” the presidency is planning to spend in the forthcoming six months.
Aided by a shorter calendar due to the European Parliament elections in May this year, the Greeks are nonetheless making a few significant cuts, hoping to “set a trend” for future presidencies.
Unlike their predecessors and their own previous presidencies, the Greeks are hiring only national civil servants and will outsource no activities.
“Only nine people were recruited for the Athens office,” spokesman Alexandros Vidouris explained, adding that there would also be “very few people” in the permanent representation in Brussels: “156 persons compared to the usual 250 for presidencies.”
“Everything is done in-house, by local companies and employees,” Vidouris said. Athens has launched a sponsorship programme to cover a great deal of the expenses. Local private companies will sponsor vehicles for presidency-related transport and the national Aegean Airlines will sponsor air tickets for the traditional presidency trips.
The Greek EU logo, a sailboat symbolising Europe’s “common quest and journey” and hinting at one of their central priorities – maritime policies, was designed by local young entrepreneurs and cost €12,500 as opposed to the average of €150,000 usually spent on presidency logos, Vidouris claimed.
(source: euractiv)
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