Historical context
From the moment a few millennia back in time when the Greek explorer Pytheas set foot on the windswept isles beyond the sea that he described as “Britain” relations and strong bonds between the two nations have been formed and cultivated. With sea faring deeply engrained in their national character, and bound by their insatiable desire to explore and trade with the world, the two peoples were always naturally going to be attracted to one another. Uniquely positioned on the two opposing corners of the European continent, Greece and the United Kingdom have been the gates of the continent to the riches of the East and the uncharted new world of the West.
Throughout their long co-existence, the initial trade relationship flourished into cultural and political mutual admiration as both countries have shared the same values of democracy, reason, and human rights, and have been allies on the right side of history. Since the commencement of the Greek struggle for independence from the repressive Ottoman yoke, through the First World War, the expedition in Crimea, the struggle against Nazism and the UN-sanctioned expedition in Korea, to modern day cooperation in the fight against terrorism, the United Kingdom and Greece have always fought side by side. The two peoples have been at the forefront of the free world’s struggle for freedom, stability, progress and peace, and constitute universally accepted examples of what Western civilization was, is, and will be about in the future.
Modern times
Since the formation of the modern independent Greek state that prevailed in its struggle of independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830, the United Kingdom and Greece have enjoyed cordial relations. Whether it being culture, politics, or economics, the convergence of views both at a government as well as at a public opinion level has been consistent over the years. With both countries being members of a variety of international organisations such as the OECD, NATO, UN, Council of Europe and until recently the European Union, the United Kingdom and Greece have cooperated in a variety of issues including trade, combatting climate change, fighting terrorism, upholding the rule of law and ensuring global peace and stability.
Significant to that effect is the vibrant, sizeable and ever growing Greek (including Greek Cypriot) diaspora in the United Kingdom which contributes immensely to all fields of public life. Numbering in excess of 350,000 persons, they excel in fields as diverse as politics, business, the sciences, culture, academia and sports. Four thousand Greek doctors and nurses currently work for the NHS, while more than ten thousand Greek students currently study at British universities. Greece provides the United Kingdom with a pool of hundreds of thousands of highly educated and versatile individuals and the United Kingdom recognizes Greece’s potential through its growing investments in the country. Bilateral trade between the two states has more than doubled over the last 20 years and currently stands at £6.7bn, placing Greece in the top 20 of the UK’s trading partners with potential for that to significantly increase. Demand of UK goods and services has been on the increase in Greece since 2017 and the country offers a developed market with high purchasing power and a strategic geographical position for UK businesses to expand in.
Military and Strategic Partnership
Greece and the United Kingdom maintain a close military partnership as NATO member states. The geographical centrality of Greek territory in the middle of critical land and sea routes between Asia and Europe offers unique strategic advantages to NATO. In an era of declining cooperation and rising regional conflicts in the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere, Greece maintains its role as a strong and peaceful pillar of regional stability and has been the only European NATO ally consistently meeting the 2% of GDP defence spending target. The strategic importance of Greece shapes the nature of its partnership with the United Kingdom. A series of military and defence initiatives take place regularly, including military exercises and exchange of military personnel and procurements.
Prominently, Souda Bay (based in South Crete) plays a crucial role at the command of NATO, giving the British military easy access to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the volatile Middle East region. Souda Bay has played a significant role in peacebuilding and humanitarian operations in Africa and the Middle East, increasing the safety of the naval forces of the Alliance.
Future opportunities
The dawn of the 21st century has brought many unprecedented challenges for countries across the world. The rise of religious fundamentalism, global terrorism, climate change, economic uncertainty, geopolitical shifts, trade wars and a global pandemic of immense scale have created a volatile world framework within which states and individuals need to operate.
Greece’s strategic location in the Eastern Mediterranean render it a bulwark that protects the continent of Europe from illegal migration and terrorist threats. Regrettably, hybrid operations performed by states and organisations in the immediate eastern borders of Europe – whether aiming to apply pressure by encouraging illegal immigration waves, or financing and facilitating terrorists to infiltrate Europe – constitute a serious concern. Greece, as it has done in centuries gone by, stands ready to defend itself and the rest of Europe including the United Kingdom from these threats, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our continent and its citizens while at the same time providing a safe haven for genuine refugees.
The vital British interests of security, economic stability and energy independence are best served through active cooperation with stable democratic pillars in the area such as Greece and the Republic of Cyprus. British companies have shown significant interest in helping to develop and exploit the massive natural gas reserves found in Greek, Cypriot, Israeli and Egyptian waters and their technological know-how can provide the means for that to happen efficiently and profitably. Additionally, the post-Brexit United Kingdom can always rely on the support it will naturally find in Greece – a country within the hard core of the European Union and the Eurozone – to ensure trade and other relations between the Union and the United Kingdom develop further and for the benefit of both sides. Significantly, the Greek owned merchant fleet, the largest in the world and accounting for approximately 50% of all EU capacity, continues to offer UK exporters and importers seamless trade to the four corners of the world.
The United Kingdom and Greece are partners, friends, allies and much more. They complement one another. What Aeschylus commenced, Shakespeare continued. What Socrates questioned, John Locke attempted to answer. What Sappho melodically touched, Lord Byron perfected. What Pythagoras theorised about, Bertrand Russell applied and expanded. The bonds that stand the test of time are the strongest, and it is such bonds that tie Greece and the United Kingdom: unique, robust and permanent.
Historical context
From the moment a few millennia back in time when the Greek explorer Pytheas set foot on the windswept isles beyond the sea that he described as “Britain” relations and strong bonds between the two nations have been formed and cultivated. With sea faring deeply engrained in their national character, and bound by their insatiable desire to explore and trade with the world, the two peoples were always naturally going to be attracted to one another. Uniquely positioned on the two opposing corners of the European continent, Greece and the United Kingdom have been the gates of the continent to the riches of the East and the uncharted new world of the West.
Throughout their long co-existence, the initial trade relationship flourished into cultural and political mutual admiration as both countries have shared the same values of democracy, reason, and human rights, and have been allies on the right side of history. Since the commencement of the Greek struggle for independence from the repressive Ottoman yoke, through the First World War, the expedition in Crimea, the struggle against Nazism and the UN-sanctioned expedition in Korea, to modern day cooperation in the fight against terrorism, the United Kingdom and Greece have always fought side by side. The two peoples have been at the forefront of the free world’s struggle for freedom, stability, progress and peace, and constitute universally accepted examples of what Western civilization was, is, and will be about in the future.
Modern times
Since the formation of the modern independent Greek state that prevailed in its struggle of independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830, the United Kingdom and Greece have enjoyed cordial relations. Whether it being culture, politics, or economics, the convergence of views both at a government as well as at a public opinion level has been consistent over the years. With both countries being members of a variety of international organisations such as the OECD, NATO, UN, Council of Europe and until recently the European Union, the United Kingdom and Greece have cooperated in a variety of issues including trade, combatting climate change, fighting terrorism, upholding the rule of law and ensuring global peace and stability.
Significant to that effect is the vibrant, sizeable and ever growing Greek (including Greek Cypriot) diaspora in the United Kingdom which contributes immensely to all fields of public life. Numbering in excess of 350,000 persons, they excel in fields as diverse as politics, business, the sciences, culture, academia and sports. Four thousand Greek doctors and nurses currently work for the NHS, while more than ten thousand Greek students currently study at British universities. Greece provides the United Kingdom with a pool of hundreds of thousands of highly educated and versatile individuals and the United Kingdom recognizes Greece’s potential through its growing investments in the country. Bilateral trade between the two states has more than doubled over the last 20 years and currently stands at £6.7bn, placing Greece in the top 20 of the UK’s trading partners with potential for that to significantly increase. Demand of UK goods and services has been on the increase in Greece since 2017 and the country offers a developed market with high purchasing power and a strategic geographical position for UK businesses to expand in.
Military and Strategic Partnership
Greece and the United Kingdom maintain a close military partnership as NATO member states. The geographical centrality of Greek territory in the middle of critical land and sea routes between Asia and Europe offers unique strategic advantages to NATO. In an era of declining cooperation and rising regional conflicts in the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere, Greece maintains its role as a strong and peaceful pillar of regional stability and has been the only European NATO ally consistently meeting the 2% of GDP defence spending target. The strategic importance of Greece shapes the nature of its partnership with the United Kingdom. A series of military and defence initiatives take place regularly, including military exercises and exchange of military personnel and procurements.
Prominently, Souda Bay (based in South Crete) plays a crucial role at the command of NATO, giving the British military easy access to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the volatile Middle East region. Souda Bay has played a significant role in peacebuilding and humanitarian operations in Africa and the Middle East, increasing the safety of the naval forces of the Alliance.
Future opportunities
The dawn of the 21st century has brought many unprecedented challenges for countries across the world. The rise of religious fundamentalism, global terrorism, climate change, economic uncertainty, geopolitical shifts, trade wars and a global pandemic of immense scale have created a volatile world framework within which states and individuals need to operate.
Greece’s strategic location in the Eastern Mediterranean render it a bulwark that protects the continent of Europe from illegal migration and terrorist threats. Regrettably, hybrid operations performed by states and organisations in the immediate eastern borders of Europe – whether aiming to apply pressure by encouraging illegal immigration waves, or financing and facilitating terrorists to infiltrate Europe – constitute a serious concern. Greece, as it has done in centuries gone by, stands ready to defend itself and the rest of Europe including the United Kingdom from these threats, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our continent and its citizens while at the same time providing a safe haven for genuine refugees.
The vital British interests of security, economic stability and energy independence are best served through active cooperation with stable democratic pillars in the area such as Greece and the Republic of Cyprus. British companies have shown significant interest in helping to develop and exploit the massive natural gas reserves found in Greek, Cypriot, Israeli and Egyptian waters and their technological know-how can provide the means for that to happen efficiently and profitably. Additionally, the post-Brexit United Kingdom can always rely on the support it will naturally find in Greece – a country within the hard core of the European Union and the Eurozone – to ensure trade and other relations between the Union and the United Kingdom develop further and for the benefit of both sides. Significantly, the Greek owned merchant fleet, the largest in the world and accounting for approximately 50% of all EU capacity, continues to offer UK exporters and importers seamless trade to the four corners of the world.
The United Kingdom and Greece are partners, friends, allies and much more. They complement one another. What Aeschylus commenced, Shakespeare continued. What Socrates questioned, John Locke attempted to answer. What Sappho melodically touched, Lord Byron perfected. What Pythagoras theorised about, Bertrand Russell applied and expanded. The bonds that stand the test of time are the strongest, and it is such bonds that tie Greece and the United Kingdom: unique, robust and permanent.