Market Challenges
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- Significant competition from Greece’s traditional trading partners — Italy, Germany, France, the U.K., and the Netherlands:
- EU suppliers have duty-free status and proximity to the Greek market (lower transportation costs and faster service). Additionally, many projects are financed by EU loans and must be awarded to entities based in the EU.
- Competition in many industry sectors in Greece can be characterized as oligopolistic, making it difficult for new entrants to penetrate the market.
- The public sector share of GDP exceeds 48%. Public procurement is consequently an important component of the commercial landscape. The Government of Greece prefers, and often requires, foreign bidders to partner with Greek companies.
- Businesses face frequent changes to the tax and regulatory environment.
- Despite being a signatory to the OECD Anti-bribery Convention, Transparency International’s Annual Perception of Corruption Index for 2024 ranked Greece 59 out of 180 countries surveyed.
- U.S. exporters in some sectors continue to face some barriers to entry and other challenges navigating both EU and local requirements. In several industries such as pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, legal services, and government procurement, these barriers are more pronounced in some member states than others.
- EU legislation generally takes two forms. “Regulations” have mandatory language and are directly applicable in member states when implemented. “Directives” provide a general framework and must be “transposed” into national legislation at the member state level. Differences in how directives are transposed in Greece and other member states complicate compliance for U.S. companies doing business in the EU. Industry has periodically raised concerns over perceived onerous regulations and high compliance costs.