Investors can also strike up Public-Private Partnerships for large-scale projects in
strategic areas.
Enterprise Greece helps strategic investments fast track through the permission
framework, including getting through some hoops under partial control of the state,
such as the Central Archaeological Council (KAS), forestry services, and environmental
bodies.
“Greece has moved towards a reform period in order to facilitate and improve its
business environment,” says Kyriakos Andreou, Advisory Leader at PwC Greece.
“Several reforms have been applied, [which] aim to improve flexibility in the labour and
product market and to reduce unnecessary barriers and impediments.” Despite the
reform push, “licensing remains one of the thorniest issues concerning investments in
Greece,” notes Andreou, adding that previous years saw investment projects held up
by extensive red tape. Today the government is trying to address this through the
“simplification and acceleration of licensing procedures. By lowering the minimum
threshold, as well as restructuring and insolvency laws, insolvency proceedings are
more effective and allow indebted firms to be restructured, avoiding closure.”
Another area in need of reform, notes Andreou, is “the constantly changing tax regime,
which leaves no room for long-term planning by companies.” He also notes the “slow
public administration, as well as the multiplicity and the large legislative framework of
the Greek state, [which] delay foreign investments in Greece. However, the
government supports investment initiatives through law acts and amendments that
will minimise all associated legal barriers and accelerate licensing processes.”
Nicholas Papapolitis, Managing Partner of Papapolitis & Papapolitis, agrees that the
new government, signalling its business-friendly platform, is charging ahead by
removing legal and other obstacles to investment. “The obstacles are well known to
everyone as they have been there for years and include Greek red tape, the ever-
changing Greek tax framework, and one of the slowest court systems in Europe.
Nevertheless, we witnessed significant reforms in the latter half of 2019 that tackled
the above obstacles, and a very big willingness from the state to enable foreign direct
investment into the country,” notes Papapolitis.
“The government has already demonstrated that commitment by reducing taxes in
2019 and unblocking landmark projects in Piraeus and Hellinikon,” says Georgios
Filiopoulos, CEO of Enterprise Greece, adding, “up until a few years ago, the most
important hurdle to investors was the fear of Greece exiting the eurozone. But that is
no longer an issue and Greece has clearly regained the confidence of international
investors and creditors.”