Greece

Last updated in January 2012

Many Greeks feel an affinity with Germany and German culture. Hundreds of thousands of Greeks have, after spending many years working or studying in Germany, returned home with good memories of their stay here. There are more than 300,000 people of Greek origin living in Germany, many of whom are remarkably well integrated and successful in German society. In addition, many Greeks – including a number of prominent politicians, scientists and academics – remember with gratitude that they were able to find refuge and support in Germany during the colonels’ dictatorship (1967-1974). Worthy of note are the close contacts between the two countries’ legal experts, attributable to the fact that Greece adopted German civil law code after gaining its independence and many Greeks active in the legal profession studied in Germany. A large number of Greek engineers and physicians also received their training in Germany and many Greek academics, and even numerous leading figures in the country’s social and political life, have a good command of German.

Political relations

Political relations between Germany and Greece were for many years characterized by substantial agreement on international issues (the role of the United Nations, the Middle East, Iraq and Afghanistan) and on basic questions relating to the European Union. The most recent official visit was that of the Greek President Karolos Papoulias to Germany from 18 to 22 September 2006. The heads of government and ministers meet regularly at EU level. On 5 March 2010, then Greek Prime Minister Papandreou held bilateral talks with Federal Chancellor Merkel in Berlin, during which agreement was reached on a German-Greek partnership initiative. He travelled to Berlin again on 23 February 2011 on a working visit, during which he held talks with Federal Chancellor Merkel on mastering the country’s debt crisis. On 3 October 2010, G. Papandreou was presented with the Quadriga Prize in Berlin.

Since early summer 2011, there has been a marked increase in mutual visits by parliamentarians from both countries. There have been visits to Greece by delegations of the German Bundestag committees on Tourism, Internal Affairs, the Affairs of the European Union and Foreign Cultural and Education Policy. The two countries’ bilateral parliamentary friendship groups also visited each other in the course of 2011.

The German occupation of Greece during the Second World War and the crimes committed by Germans during this period are still remembered by the Greeks. In recent years, many victim communities have invited German representatives to attend commemorative ceremonies and other events. Greece’s debt crisis has prompted Greek victims’ associations to step up their demands for compensation for wrongs committed by Germans during the Second World War. A complaint is pending at the International Court of Justice in the Hague to determine to what extent compensation claims against the Federal Republic of Germany can be enforced in third countries.

Some 50 German-Greek societies in Germany are members of the umbrella organization Association of German-Greek Societies.

From 3 to 5 November 2011, the Second German-Greek Assembly was held in Thessaloniki. This is a forum that brings together all the associations engaged in promoting German-Greek relations and that seeks in particular to develop new ways of stepping up cooperation between the two countries’ cities and regions. Federal Chancellor Merkel sent, as Germany’s representative, Parliamentary State Secretary Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, who has since been the Federal Chancellor’s commissioner tasked with the job of preparing the next German-Greek Assemblies (to be held in Thessaloniki in 2012 and in Nuremberg in 2013).

Debt crisis

In the first half of 2010, Greece’s debt crisis gave rise to fierce debates and controversies in the media and among the general public in both countries. The Greek media criticized Germany’s initial reluctance to provide financial assistance to Greece as a lack of solidarity. Germany was frequently accused of sharing responsibility for Greece’s debt woes (the international financial crisis, the large surpluses in bilateral trade). The Greeks as a nation felt defamed by articles in the German press. In surveys, Germany slipped from the position of second most popular partner nation (after France) to the position of third most unpopular partner, after the USA and Turkey and just ahead of the United Kingdom.

For more on the debt crisis and international assistance, see the ‘Economic relations’ section.

Economic relations

German investments in Greece focus on the retail sector and the pharmaceutical industry.

With bilateral trade worth more than EUR 8.5 billion, Germany is Greece’s principal trading partner. German companies are among the most important foreign investors in the country. Over the past two years, Deutsche Telekom has gradually acquired a 40 per cent share in the semi-state-owned Greek telecommunications company OTE. In addition to companies including Siemens and Bayer that have been operating in Greece for many years, there has been a recent increased influx of retail companies like Lidl and Media-Saturn. Major infrastructure projects such as the Athens Metro and the new Athens airport have been conducted with the help of German companies. The 144 German companies operating in Greece employ a total workforce of approximately 37,000 and account for an annual turnover of some EUR 10.5 billion (German Federal Bank figures, as of April 2010).

German companies complain about substantial outstanding debts and defective performance of contractual obligations on the part of the Greek government. This applies mainly to the pharmaceutical sector and the construction industry.

In August 2011, Federal Economics Minister Rösler launched an Investment and Growth Initiative for Greece. As part of this initiative, a German-Greek entrepreneurs’ meeting was held in Athens on 6 and 7 October 2011. Co-chaired by Rösler and his Greek counterpart, the meeting was designed to explore the potential for investment. As a result, a joint declaration was issued providing for an intensification of bilateral cooperation to strengthen Greece’s real economy. 

Cultural relations

Close cultural ties have existed between Greece and Germany since the time of the Greek struggle against Ottoman rule, which was supported by the philhellenes in Germany. Numerous German scientists, scholars and administrators went to Greece during the reign of King Otto von Wittelsbach (1833-1862), especially from Bavaria. The pioneering research carried out by German archaeologists, the work done by German engineers in helping develop the country and a general affinity for the German legal system forged strong ties in the academic sector which survived the deep divisions caused by the two World Wars. Around 40,000 Greeks have received all or part of their vocational training in Germany. One tenth of the Greek population have lived for some time in Germany. Today, there are still nearly 300,000 Greeks living in Germany.

There are branches of the Goethe Institute in Athens and Thessaloniki, enriching cultural life in both metropolitan regions. The former branches in Patras and Chania (Crete) continue to be operated with private funding as Goethe Centres, which focus on language teaching. The Goethe Institutes in Greece hold more language examinations than anywhere else in the world (nearly 30,500 in 2010).

The German School in Athens, which looks back on more than 110-year tradition, has a German and a Greek section (with a total of about 1,000 pupils) and enjoys an excellent reputation. The same is true of the even older German School in Thessaloniki.

Founded in 1874, the Athens branch of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) supervises important excavations in Olympia, at the Kerameikos Cemetery in Athens, in Kalapodi, on the island of Samos, in Tiryns (Peloponnese) and on Aegina. It maintains an extensive library of approximately 70,000 books and a phototheque comprising 140,000 photographs. Lectures and publications by the DAI are highly esteemed in expert circles.

The German Studies departments at the universities of Athens and Thessaloniki are supported through the seconding of lecturers. In November 2004, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) opened its own Information Centre on the premises of the Goethe Institute to offer individual counselling on studying and pursuing research in Germany. So far, some 2,200 Greek students, academics and researchers have received DAAD scholarships and more than 300 Humboldt research scholarships have been awarded. In Athens, Greek private schools (Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Erasmios, and the primary-level Manta and the Athens Schools) have done much to promote German as a foreign language. In the 2010/2011 winter semester, there were 5,182 Greek nationals studying in Germany.