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The Hellenic Presidency of the Council of the EU: Financial Report

ntirovouzis — Tue, 05 May 2015 06:52:56 +0000

For the hosting of the Presidency, an Independent Office was set up, under Law 4148/2013, at the Foreign Ministry’s Central Service, under the competent Deputy Foreign Minister and overseen by the Foreign Minister, with a special budget board and the Head of the Office serving as the competent manager.

The principal assumptions on which the planning and implementation of the Presidency activities were based were (a) savings on expenses, (b) utilization of existing public sector human resources, (c) exclusive use, as far as possible, of a single conference facility and a uniform programme, (d) a frugal programme of cultural events in and outside of Greece, and (e) an extensive sponsorship programme.

The financial management of the Office of the Hellenic Presidency, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was completed on 31 December 2014, with the settlement of all expenditures related to the Presidency.

The management of the budget of the 2014 Hellenic Presidency of the Council of the European Union – which was an undeniable success from both a substantial and organizational perspective – was

(a) fully transparent, in accordance with the regulations of public accounting,

(b) frugal, economical and effective, and

The financial report for the years 2013 (preparation year) and 2014 can be accessed below.

The Presidency (EU)

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Presidency Financial Report

Results of the Hellenic Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 January – 30 June 2014

ntirovouzis — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 08:33:45 +0000

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The fifth Hellenic Presidency of the Council of the European Union concluded its mission and handed over to Italy. The Hellenic Presidency conducted its work at a period heavily affected by the ongoing economic crisis and its devastating effects in the social sphere. It was a period characterized by severe criticism of the EU and its way of functioning. This criticism and discontent were rather eloquently demonstrated during the recent European Parliament elections, when EU citizens proved to be quite vocal in their demand for a better Europe.

During the first semester of 2014, the Hellenic Presidency labored in an effort to lead the Union to a hopeful future, the future that the peoples and citizens of Europe deserve. We tried to turn the EU into a mature and potent political actor, one that, having learned from its past mistakes and delays, is capable of effective management of both internal as well as external challenges and opportunities. Our primary aim was to deliver tangible results for EU citizens under particularly difficult conditions. Our main objective was to find realistic solutions to the Union’s very real and pressing problems.

During the Hellenic Presidency, 71 pieces of legislation were concluded. Work continued even after the European Parliament recess and agreement was reached within the Council on over 15 legislative acts.

Read below the Results of the Hellenic Presidency of the Council of the European Union

The Presidency (EU)

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Results of the Hellenic Presidency of the Council of the EU

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras reviews the Greek Presidency at European Parliament plenary session (2.07.2014)

ekampaki — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 13:00:44 +0000

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Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras reviewed the Greek Presidency at the European Parliament plenary session, today (2.07.2014) in Strasbourg. Prime Minister Samaras also held a press conference with EP President, Martin Schulz.

Read below PM Samaras’ Opening and closing statements at EP.

The Presidency (EU)

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PM Samaras' Statements - Strasbourg (2.07.2014)

The Greek Presidency reaches the end, the journey continues

ekampaki — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 13:58:32 +0000

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After six months of intense work, 57 ministerial meetings and 67 political agreements (read the Greek Presidency Scoreboard here), the journey of the Greek Presidency reaches its end today and the website and twitter team feel the need to thank all the people behind the numbers: all of you who followed and read us, all of you who sent us your ideas, your comments and your wishes in the past months.

The team of 13 civil servants of the General Secretariat of Information & Communication, who worked, for the last nine months, for the Presidency's website and twitter account, would like to wholeheartedly thank the 250,000 visitors of online-casino-greece.com, the 13,000 followers of our twitter account and the 3,500 subscribers of our weekly newsletter, who joined us, during the last 181 days, on this memorable European journey.

The Greek Presidency website with 6,500 web pages and content available in four languages, recorded about 1.3 million page views and over 400,000 visits, with over 2,200 active users daily (more here).

Bidding farewell to you all, we would like to wish every success to the Italian Presidency, which takes over tomorrow and whose website we have already started to follow: italia2014.eu

Buon viaggio Italia!

The Presidency (EU)

DPM & FM Venizelos reviews Greek Presidency achievements – Press Conference

ekampaki — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 08:04:52 +0000

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Upon the conclusion of the Greek Presidency of the Council of the EU, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos held at Zappeion Megaron, on Monday, 30 June 2014, a press conference, during which he reviewed the main achievements of the Greek Presidency.

Read below DMP & FM Venizelos' opening statements

The Presidency (EU)

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DPM & FM Venizelos' Opening statements

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Press Conference 30.06.2014: Greek EU Presidency Achievements

The Greek Presidency in numbers

ekampaki — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 14:33:26 +0000

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With just 3 days to go until the end of the Greek semester, check out the figures that sum it up in terms of efficiency, economy and transparency.

Click here to view the infographic

The Presidency (EU)

Closing ceremony

pmastroperrou — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 16:05:34 +0000

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The closing ceremony held at Zappeion Megaron (30.06.2014) officially ended the Greek Presidency at the Council of the EU.

Find below the key speeches delivered by Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras and DPM & FM, Evangelos Venizelos.

The Presidency (EU)

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Programme (EN, GR)

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Closing ceremony, Athens 30.06.2014

Report on the Expenditure of the Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union

impadmin — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 08:41:12 +0000

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Organization Costs of the Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union

A total of € 50 million has been earmarked for costs related to the organization of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in the course of fiscal years 2013 and 2014. The actual funds made available in the budget of the Office of the Hellenic Presidency reached €44.7 million. The budget covers all costs associated with the Office of the Hellenic Presidency, either in the form of directly accrued costs, or in the form of contributions to Presidency-related activities of other Ministries.

Distribution of expenditures for the organization of the Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union (Interim Report 30/5/2014)

Expenditure Category	Amount (in million Euros)
Funds transferred to other Ministries in 2013	3.4
Disbursements by the Office of the Hellenic Presidency in 2013	3.4
Funds transferred to other Ministries in 2014	2.8
Disbursements by the Office of the Hellenic Presidency in 2014	4.4
Total	14

Costs include official travel and secondment of staff to Brussels for the duration of the Greek Presidency, accommodation and hosting of visiting delegations in Athens, organization of cultural events, remuneration of temporary staff on fixed contracts, interpretation, accreditation, rent of premises/offices, postage fees, telecommunication, transportation expenses, publications and printing, office supplies and IT related expenditures.

Sponsorship Programme of the Greek Presidency

A part of costs is covered through the sponsorship programme of the Greek Presidency, in which 25 companies participate. It is estimated that the total value of the sponsorship programme, exclusively in the form of goods and services, will eventually reach € 2.5 million.
By the end of the Greek Presidency, a total of 160 events will have been organized in Greece, most of them in Athens, while visiting delegations are expected to generate 12,500 overnight stays. This, combined with additional cultural events organized by Greek diplomatic missions abroad, is expected to have a positive impact on Greek tourism and Greece’s image across the world.
A final, detailed financial overview will be presented following the conclusion of the Greek Presidency semester.

The Presidency (EU)

The COSAC Meeting rounds up the parliamentary dimension of the Greek Presidency

pchoros — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 08:33:31 +0000

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The 51st Meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) takes place in Athens from the 15th to the 17th of June, in the framework of the Greek Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, E. Meimarakis and the Vice-President of the Hellenic Parliament and Chairman of the Hellenic Parliament’s European Affairs Committee, I. Tragakis, who chaired the meeting, referred to the results of the EU elections and the significant challenges that the EU is called upon to face, with regard to the rise of euroscepticism and the need to regain the trust and the engagement of European citizens to European politics.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, D. Kourkoulas made an extensive intervention on the relevant issues.

The Culture and Sports Minister of the Hellenic Republic, K. Tasoulas, spoke of the “Democratic Legitimacy and European leadership: the day after the European elections”.

In his speech, the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, A. Samaras, referred to the outcome of the Greek Presidency of the EU Council, stressing especially the promotion of the Banking Union and the steps made towards the migration flow management.

The President of the European Commission, J. M. Barroso in a recorded message presented the European vision for Europe 2025 and identified a remarkable but still fragile recovery of the European economy.

The Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, E. Brok and the Chairman of the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, C. Casini addressed the meeting on behalf of the European Parliament.

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Starry nights full of theatre and music!

ekampaki — Fri, 30 May 2014 09:57:53 +0000

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As summer sets in and the Greek Presidency draws to a close, it’s time for the Athens and Epidaurus Festival (aka Greek Festival). This ‘jewel in the crown’ of the cultural season in Greece, with a history of almost 60 years, begins on 1 June running through mid-August. Its aim is to present contemporary artists from around the globe and acquaint the audience with both innovative and pervasive trends of modern artistic creation.

The festival began its journey as the Epidaurus Festival in 1954 which expanded to include an Athens component a year later, known as the Athens Festival. The programme featured theatre, dance, opera and music performances, held at the Roman Herod Atticus Odeon, at the foothill of the Acropolis as well as ancient drama performances or opera productions at the Epidaurus theatre, unique for its accoustics. In the 1950s Greece, the festival brought with it an aura of cosmopolitanism, extricating the country from excessive introspection and opening new vistas for cultural creativity.

Since the mid-50s, the two iconic venues welcomed on their stage scores of world-renowned artists, individual performers and ensembles, making world-class art accessible to the post-war Greek society. Legends such as Dimitris Mitropoulos, Maria Callas, Mstislav Rostropovich, Luciano Pavarotti, Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hadjidakis in music; Dimitris Rondiris, Karolos Koun, Giorgio Strehler, Peter Hall in theatre; Georges Balanchine and Pina Bausch, Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, Martha Graham, Alicia Alonso and Maya Plisetskaya in ballet; ensembles like the Noh Theatre, the Bunraku Puppet Theatre, the Peking Opera, and the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre are just some of the names that featured on the Festival’s programme, over the years.

It may have been that the festival has displayed, over the course of its history, an equivocal attitude towards cultural preferences, oscillating between cosmopolitanism and introversion, adjusting to the prevailing mood of Greek society at the time. More recently, the state of affairs has changed again with the decision to systematically open up the Festival to cutting-edge international productions, and to promote young Greek artists, to spread events across the entire city by adding new venues every year, seeking out new, varied audiences.

This year’s programme includes, apart from a host of concerts and musical events, 27 domestic drama productions, of the Greek and international repertoire (twenty-three in Athens, three at the Epidaurus theatre and one in Little Theatre at Epidaurus), many of which are signed by young, emerging directors. Another five foreign productions characteristic of current aesthetic trends. In addition, the theatre production of “The woman of Zante” will be presented, in collaboration with the Diazoma A ssociation, to ancient theatres across the country.

Check the Festival’s full programme for more details and … don’t forget to make arrangements for your night out in a local wine-bar or tavern, after whichever event you choose to attend!

The Presidency (EU)