Generally Sound Operations at Commercial Service Greece Are Compromised by Key Weaknesses

摘要

Greece, located in southern Europe between Albania and Turkey, is an import-dependent country of 10.6 million residents. U.S. exports totaled $1.15 billion in FY 2002a mere 4.5 percent share of Greeces import market. One reported reason for this small market share is that Greece is a member of the European Union, and European companies offer stiff competition to U.S. firms. Aircraft, arms, and machinery are the top U.S. exports to Greece. However, opportunities in other sectors are emerging. Greece will host the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, and many American companies are identifying new opportunities and making investments that will keep them in the Greek market even after the Games have concluded. Economic restructuring is spawning still more opportunities, as banks, the telephone monopoly, the national Olympic Airways, and other public sector concerns privatize, and workers shift from agriculture to the service sector. For example, a well-known U.S. coffee shop chain opened its first store in Greece in September 2002, and it is already one of the busiest stores in all of Europe. The Commercial Service (CS) post in Greece has a very active advocacy program and a full menu of trade events to assist firms seeking to tap the Greek market. The post ranks 31st in terms of investment of Commercial Service dollars, with an FY 2002 budget of $1.14 million. The CS Greece office is located in Athens (the capital) and until February 2002, it also had a presence in Northern Greece (in the city of Thessaloniki). We inspected CS Greece operations at the request of the U.S. ambassador, who became concerned about post operations because of problems associated with services provided to a U.S. firm entering the Greek market. The ambassador wanted assurance that appropriate procedures and controls were in place to prevent similar problems from recurring. We conducted an on-site inspection between February 24 and March 6, 2003, at which time the post employed two American officers and seven FSNs.