Celebrating 90 Years - Foreign Policy Association

Board of Directors
Delegation to Greece
At the invitation of Greek Foreign Minister
Dora Bakoyannis, a delegation of the
Foreign Policy Association Board of
Directors spent a highly informative week in
Greece during July 2007. Our extraordinary
hosts were Alexander Philon, formerly the
ambasador of Greece to the United States,
and Adamantios Vassilakis, who served as
permanent representative of Greece to the
United Nations from 2002 to 2007. They
arranged a stimulating itinerary.
The FPA delegation converged on the
sybaritic island of Santorini for a valuable
briefing and exchange of views with key
members of the Greek Foreign Ministry and
with the U.S. chargé d’affaires to Greece,
Tom Countryman. Carol Baumann, an FPA
director and former assistant secretary of
state for intelligence and research, summarized
key points raised at these meetings.
1. GREEK-TURKISH RELATIONS
Greece favors the entry of Turkey into the
European Union. This position is contrary to
the U.S. general public’s perception. Journalists
made the point that Turkey’s membership
will allow better solutions to bilateral
Greek-Turkish relations. Greece’s Socialist Party has
switched its position and now supports Turkey’s entry
into the EU, and public opinion in Greece also has
changed to favor entry. George Papandreou, who
was the Greek minister of foreign afairs from 1999 to
2004, stated that Turkish EU membership could put
the Greek-Turkish relationship in a different perspective
and that the EU could be a “major lever” to change
the internal situation in Turkey. All Greek political parties
now favor Turkish admission, although the Turkish
government is somewhat less interested in joining the
EU. Theodore Couloumbis argued that Greek-Turkish
relations have improved since 1990. Both Greek parties
favor cooperation with Turkey, and trade between
the two countries has increased tremendously.
120 | FOREIGN POLICY ASSOCIATION
Evangelos Meimarakis, the Greek minister of defense (left), greets FPA
Director Richard Lannamann. In the background is Adamantios Vassilakis,
who served as Greece’s ambassador to the United Nations.
2. POLITICAL PARTIES AND POLITICS IN GREECE
Journalists suggested that Greek political parties are
now “converging” on several issues, including relations
with Turkey, the economy, and the question of
Macedonia. While the parties may agree on strategy,
they differ on tactics. George Papandreou said that the
Greek government is not active enough on Turkey’s
entry into the European Union and on the Macedonian
issue. No progress has been made on continental shelf
controversies, he said, and the issue has not been well
managed. In his view, priority economic goals include
investment in education, reform of the bureaucracy,
stronger orientation toward markets, and reform of
agricultural and production systems. He also said that
Greece should develop “high quality” tourism.