On the weekend in Sydney, Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister, responsible for Greeks abroad, Kostas Tsiaras, will meet with members of the Greek community to discuss a variety of issues and meet with Greeks of the diaspora. Mr Tsiaras has been touring the nation this week promoting an optimistic message for all the concerns the diaspora have voiced before he leaves for Greece tomorrow. Issues such as double taxation, the right to vote, work and holiday visas and growing trade between the two countries have been discussed at length, with a number of Greek Australian parliamentarians as well as members in the Greek community of the different cities Mr Tsiaras has visited on his Australian trip.
Mr Tsiaras’ first stop was Perth last Friday where he met with the Greek community of Western Australia as well as a number of Greek Australian politicians and dignitaries.
It was his visit in Melbourne, however, including his speech made at the Greek Consulate of Melbourne last Sunday where he tried to convey an optimistic message to a somewhat pessimistic crowd concerning the rebuilding of the failed World Hellenic Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE), that largely fell on deaf ears. The majority of those in audience had lived through the great days as well as years of silence from the SAE. They were the same people that voted, travelled overseas and in Australia for conferences and manned SAE. But on Sunday they found it hard to believe that the council could ever become a relevant body for the Diaspora.
Despite the fact that the Deputy Minister was careful to remind them that “you need to be optimistic about the SAE”, looking around the room you could see that the audience was under the impression SAE had well and truly had its day.
President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria, Bill Papastergiadis, had felt compelled to tell the Minister: “we do not share your optimism”.
Later on he told Neos Kosmos, “I’m afraid that despite all the reforms and changes, if this institution fails to acquire a meaningful relationship with community agencies, will remain a hollow organisation. I am pessimistic and I am not alone”.
At least the Minister’s hope for a bright and dynamic SAE was easily supported, but for it to get to that point, many realise that holistic community engagement is paramount.
When asked about the vote for Greeks abroad, Mr Tsiaras said: “we expect to see developments soon”.
“First, the voting rights of Greeks abroad, as you know, is something which has occupied us for many years. I was one that voted in favour for the constitutional reform in 2008 for introducing the possibility of postal voting.
“Unfortunately, either due to the immaturity of the political system, or because of petty bickering, it was not possible to get the necessary votes so that the postal vote can become a reality for expatriates. I have the feeling that things are maturing and this is shown by the fact that soon Mr. Stylianidis, Interior Affairs Minister, intends to give a model law on public to start the discussion about the possibility of postal vote. Of course, as you know, this option is in the works because when the vote returns to parliament we should be confident that we will succeed. Because if we do not succeed this time, you realise that it will probably go on the back burner for decades.”
Many members of the community raised the concern about their pensions. Neos Kosmos asked Mr. Tsiaras about the issue of long delays by the Greek social security networks for processing pension applications for expatriates. Many are entitled to a pension from the Greek state after working in the country and some have been waiting longer than three years to get an answer.
“With the ongoing economic crisis, there has been an explosion of pension claims for the Greek state. The Greek state itself has limited capabilities to process them because of the overload of applications,” he answered.
“This means that to settle a pension claim it will take a very long time, much more than what was needed in the past. But you have to see also that some cases will encounter problems because you have to collect the data, records and other items through correspondence. It’s a hassle everyone in the Greek community is feeling. Pension applications have increased fivefold in the past two years.”
The FYROM naming issue was also raised with Mr Tsiaras saying that:
“The truth is that Greece is committed to the rules of international law and at the first discussion we said that this issue will be resolved under the auspices of the UN. We insist on this to show that a country which has taken democratic steps and is a member of the European Union, European institutions, NATO can only move through specific legal rules and legal procedures and in this effort, as you know there have been some fluctuations for 20 years where we were have moved sometimes with positive direction and other times with negative directions.
“Most recently I must tell you that there have been some initiatives on the part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the one hand, the Ministry aims to sign a memorandum of understanding for the discussion on the name issue, where Greece is willing enough to agree on a name if it does not affect Greece’s history. It seemed clear that the unmovable side is FYROM. As another example, until about two months ago, FYROM was not given a starting date for negotiations with the European Union for very specific reasons, and the report that came out of this move on behalf of EU detailed points that must be answered in order to start discussions. One of these points is solving the name issue with Greece. So at least this time we are in a very good position towards solving of all these issues. This is the reality.”
At the meeting, Neos Kosmos raised the issue of wasting money diplomatically, referring to the case of the monthly bill to the Greek state by the Greek ambassador’s house in Vienna.
Mr. Dimitris Ioannou, a permanent member in Vienna of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, publicly condemned Greece recently for allowing the Greek Ambassador in Vienna to rack up a monthly bill of 13,000 euros for rent and utilities at his residence. Surely 13,000 euros is a hefty amount to pay for a country that’s on the brink of bankruptcy?
And Neos Kosmos asked Mr Tsiaras the following question:
Will the Greek State make an effort to cut expenses of this magnitude, which in some cases occur in Australia as well and channel the money saved to more services for the community? It is well known that many Greek Australians face with ‘fear’ the prospect of having to visit the Consulate, since they know very well that they have to face long and painful waits in order to be served.
“The attempt to cut expenses is happening systematically,” Mr Tsiaras said. “It’s not because it is suddenly a necessity for our country but because we have to move forward to make certain cuts for the future.
“We believe there is no magic solution, but common sense is the only way to face the country’s challenges. I wouldn’t though concentrate on one occasion like the one you mentioned as no one knows the motivations of this public slander and the implications for Greece.
“It is an issue that should be seen as a whole and collectively. Usually at a time of economic crisis, the country faces backwards, downwards and inwards, and we should do the exact opposite by following an aggressive foreign policy, if we are to succeed in very critical areas such our global presence.”
The tax burden on Greeks abroad has been an issued discussed at great lengths on this trip, and something that Mr Tsiaras has spoken about on nearly every public outing. At the meeting on Sunday, he said:
“I know it is a painful process, a bureaucratic hassle for most of you, and certainly your dissatisfaction is justifiable. There is no reason to suffer it. What I can tell you is that speaking with the Minister of Finance, Mr. Stournaras, just before I left, he assured me that the Greek parliament will soon (next week most likely) pass an extension for completing the process. There will, therefore be an extension of six months and within those six months we will settle this issue through a new tax bill. It is a commitment of the Prime Minister too so we will move in that direction.”
Prior to this meeting, Ms Tsiaras started his Sunday at St Anargiroi Greek Orthodox Church at Oakleigh and followed it with a visit to Oakleigh Grammar to look on the facilities provided to students receiving a bilingual education. He had a bit of time to relax and visit some of the Greek flavoured eateries and retail shops in Eaton Mall, Oakleigh.
Following this he met with the Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HACCI) where they discussed the success of the recent Trade Mission to Australia from Thessaloniki and prospects for further cooperation in bilateral trade initiatives as organised by HACCI. The meeting took place at HACCI’s Offices in the Hellenic Museum and was attended by HACCI President Nicholas Mylonas, John Pandazopoulos MP, HACCI Director for Trade George Iliopoulos and other members of HACCI’s Trade Committee.
Mr Tsiaras updated HACCI on the commitment of the Coalition Government in Greece to reverse the economic climate in Greece and on the progress Greece has made over the last 18 months towards getting out of the recession. He emphasised that the country is now in a much better economic position than it was a year and a half ago.
Mr Tsiaras expressed his government’s understanding of the importance of pulling together Hellenes of the diaspora from all parts of the world (such as USA, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Germany). All Hellenes are important ambassadors for Greece and he is calling on their support. He said that changes will be made to the mandate of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) in order to make it a more functional and representative organisation that will work for the benefit of all Hellenes with the support of the Greek state.
HACCI President Nicholas Mylonas expressed the need for transparency on the part of the Greek State especially as regards bilateral trade and the importance of a stable regulatory and fiscal framework. He stated that a stable and transparent fiscal system in Greece was crucial in encouraging and attracting investments into the country.
The need for a Commercial Attache in the Greek Consul in Melbourne was acknowledged by both Mr Tsiaras and the Greek Ambassador to Australia, Haris Dafaranos. The importance of this role working closely with HACCI was also acknowledged.
On Monday, Mr Tsiaras started the day by meeting with Bishop Ezekiel, followed a meeting with the state MPs in Victorian including the Minister of Multiculturalism and Citizenship Nicholas Kotsiras, the Leader of the Opposition in Victoria Daniel Andrews, and Jenny Mikakos MP.
Together they discussed the possibility of Victoria hosting the exhibition of treasures of Mount Athos at the Museum of Victoria, as proposed by Minister Kotsiras. They also discussed the issue of teaching the Greek language in Victorian public schools.
Following this, Mr Tsiaras met with John Pandazopoulos, President, World Hellenic Inter-parliamentary Association (WHIA) and various members of the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Greece. There they also discussed the double taxation issue, and growing trade, but spoke about the work and holiday visa arrangements at large and also the Australian and Greek joint military heritage as allies.
In relation to the work and holiday visas, the Victorian Parliamentary Friends with Greece said this in a statement: “Australia has many working holiday visa arrangements with many countries in the world including most of Europe. This reciprocal visa is designed for young people under the age of 30 who wish to travel and work and lasts for one year. Such a visa allows young people to undertake travel and some work during the duration of the visa. This visa helps bring closer co-operation and understanding between the visa signatory countries, builds awareness of each other’s countries and allows young people to also build work experience.
For many years the Greek community in Australia has been seeking such a visa which would be of benefit to many young people in Greece at the moment. All participants would be required to depart on the one year of stay, so in no way can this short term visa be associated with any arguments about ‘brain drain’. In fact, Australians consider this a ‘brain gain’ exercise. We would encourage the Greek authorities to actively embrace this as part of negotiations currently underway with the Australian authorities.
Mr Tsiaras said “within the year we’re hoping to sign the agreement.
“Talks are for 500 young Greeks and 500 young Australians from each side, which I think will give the opportunity to both countries exchange valuable skills and lifestyle which I think is very positive.”
Mr Tsiaras also visited the home of the LOGOS Australian Centre for Hellenic Language and Culture, Flinders University, in Adelaide. Accompanied by the Greek Ambassador to Australia, Mr Haris Dafanaros, and SA Greek Consul General Mr Cristos Maniakis-Grivas, Mr Tsiaras learned about the ground breaking Modern Greek Program at Flinders.
Brisbane was the next pitstop on this whirlwind trip of Australian for Mr Tsiaras who met with Queensland’s Greek Community, before leaving for Sydney on Friday. Mr Tsiaras left for Greece on Sunday.