Archived news

According to the Greek constitution, parliamentary elections do not have to take place before March 2008, however, as it is always the case with such political matters, the government appears to be forcing the issue by attempting to bring the date forward by some months in an effort to gain some tactical advantage. The possibility of elections as early as Autumn 2007 is not just a rumour but is gaining momentum judging by government actions such as the passing of laws in favor of the middle classes while it is refraining from unpopular yet necessary measures for the reforming of the Social Security which appears to have been put back until after the elections. For many Greeks and foreigners alike earlier Elections may present an interesting opportunity for the settlement of issues that have not been resolved and remain pending for some years now.

Olympic Airways for many years was all alone on the ever busy Athens-US route. Then Delta came along and now US Airways and Continental are also proposing direct flights from Athens to some US gateways. These could be signs of reinvented tourism for Greece or reinforcement of commercial relations on top of the sizeable Greek American community returning to Greece for the summer. Open skies is finally a reality between EU and the US, allowing US carriers to rediscover the Greek market. Olympic, which in spite of an in-flight service that needs a much awaited revamp, holds a record as an accident free airline on commercial jets and seems to be already fully booked on its US bound destinations until the end of August 2007.

Enhancing our horizons and reinforcing our links for the benefit of our clients is a never ending process that requires resources and energy if we are to live up to our commitment of no less than the best. On 18th June we fly to Paris for the world's most important air show at Le Bourget. After this we are heading for Tel Aviv for an event organized by the German EU Presidency for the European commercial presence in the region in partnership with Austrian commercial interest and many important key participants.

Rather small but rich in history, the Swiss community in Greece has a presence in Athens for over 100 years now. The Swiss Society of Athens is celebrating in anticipation of the Swiss national holiday and will hold a garden party at the residence of the Swiss Ambassador in Greece on 29th June. Our undeniable links to Switzerland are driving us with great pleasure to be active in support of and assistance for this event. Not only Swiss but also the friends of Switzerland are cordially invited to participate.

On September 16, 2007 at the legislative elections the conservative New Democracy party won parliamentary majority and formed a new government addressing among others privatization of several state owned enterprises (including Olympic Airlines) and the hot issue of social security reform which as elsewhere in Europe raises substantial objections from the Unions and other parts of the population. The social security system needs urgent reform as it is caught in the middle of aging workforce and increased life expectancy. The reform is expected to influence the status of many individuals and at our offices we now dispose of a hotline for assisting our customers to find an optimized pension scheme solution. You are welcome to address any questions related to pension schemes in Greece at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

At the forefront of the international development in legal practice we have in the past attended several major legal events in various places around the world. This Fall the Global Justice Forum will be held in the prestigious Columbia Law school in New York with many interesting topics such as international securities practice, US and international trends on forum non-convenience. It also highlights distinguished professors of Columbia law School addressing issues of future development on plaintiffs practices worldwide. We are most pleased to attend this conference and we are looking forward to meet and exchange interesting opinions with top international lawyers at the Rockefeller Center forefront event and during this exciting conference.

On September 26, 2007 we were pleased to accept an invitation from the Counselor for Commercial Affairs of the U.S. Embassy in Greece to a welcome reception in honor of the new commercial Attaché who arrived from Washington, D.C. Particularly familiar with the health sector but equally well informed on all aspects of bilateral commercial relations the new Attaché was informed on the activities of our law firm which is listed on the Embassy's Greek Business Service providers network and another meeting was agreed for enhancing our cooperation on corporate and commercial issues.

We at the European Legal Consultancy place a particular emphasis on our partnerships and business openings in the ever emerging Asian markets. Being one of the very few European law offices to successfully open a cooperation scheme in Tokyo some years ago, we are proud to see a very positive response every time we visit the country of the rising sun. We are thus pleased to undertake our fifth trip within a short period of time on October 17, 2007 to attend a special investment congress on business in SE Europe, addressed by the Greek Minister of Economy and Finance Mr. George Alogoskoufis and jointly organized by the Japanese Institute for Overseas investment and the Greek Japanese Chamber of Commerce of which we are honoured to be member. In addition it is with great interest that we are pursuing our current discussions on cooperation with the Director for Asia of the Greater Zurich Area aiming to promote commercial relationships between this part of Switzerland and Asia.

The national air carrier of Greece undergoing privatization, announced an extended winter timetable including new long haul flights to Hong Kong in an attempt to rationalize utilization of its A-340 fleet currently underutilized on its New York and Johannesburg routes. Last fall the European Commission advised that the Company has been subject to illegal State subsidies and requested for reimbursement of substantial amounts which would have been impossible for the carrier to pay. In the meantime the Company has taken the case in front of the Greek Courts asking very important amounts it claims due by the Greek and looks towards some form of accounts reconciliation. As we have been involved on the latest privatization attempt and we follow the current legal battle with great interest.

We welcome with great pleasure our new collaboration with the Law Offices of Sylvestre Fafard & Painchaud in Montreal, Canada (www.sfpavocats.ca) and of Martin Chico & Asociados in Madrid, Spain and Bordeaux, France. Unlike other offices we do not go the easy way of simply adhering in already build-up cooperation schemes. We insist on personally getting to know our cooperation partners and on making sure they enjoy an excellent reputation in their field or country and that they meet the highest standards on their practices. It certainly takes an extra effort and a little longer to build such a network but we feel it as part of our commitment.