Greek-Portuguese relations

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Greek-Portuguese relations
Location of Greece and Portugal
GreeceGreece PortugalPortugal
Greece Portugal

The Greek-Portuguese relations include intergovernmental relations between Greece and Portugal . The countries have maintained renewed diplomatic relations since 1974.

Relations between the two countries are traditionally considered to be good. They are shaped by common membership in the European Union , NATO , OSCE , Council of Europe , the Eurozone and the Schengen area , and both countries take part in the Mediterranean Forum . They also have some parallels; they have a similar number of inhabitants and a comparable national area, and both countries are traditionally connected to the sea around them.

In 2016, 397 Greek citizens were registered in Portugal, with 171 most of them in the Lisbon district . In 2011, there were 650 people registered in the Portuguese consulates in Greece, of which 56 were Portuguese citizens.

history

Tavira on the Portuguese Algarve coast was in the 4th century BC. A Greek colony

Ancient Greece had contacts and settlements in Portugal. The oldest Greek colony in today's Portugal is documented in Tavira , from the 4th century BC. Trade contacts existed all the way up the coast to Santa Olaia and further north.

While Portugal was predominantly Arab between 711 AD and its founding in 1143 , Greece remained Byzantine from 395 to 1453 . Then Greece became part of the Ottoman Empire until the Greek Revolution from 1821, while the Portuguese colonial empire shaped the non-European orientation of Portugal for centuries from the 15th century .

Greece and Portugal, which had been independent since 1827, then established diplomatic relations. Greece's ambassador to Madrid, Andreas Metaxas , was the first Greek ambassador to Lisbon to be double-accredited from 1835 , while Martinho Teixeira Homem de Brederode was double-accredited as the Portuguese Ministro Plenipotenciário with the official seat of Bucharest in Athens in 1919 as the first Portuguese ambassador to Greece.

On May 29, 1924, the Portuguese government recognized the Second Hellenic Republic .

The first trade and shipping agreement between the two countries was signed on August 15, 1938.

While Portugal remained neutral during World War II, Greece suffered from the Italian invasion and the subsequent German occupation until 1945. After that, a civil war broke out in Greece, which was followed by a military dictatorship. Portugal had been a dictatorship since 1926 until the 1974 Carnation Revolution brought the country back to democracy. In the same year, with the overthrow of the Greek military dictatorship , there was a return to democracy. Both countries now oriented themselves west. In the course of their accession to today's EU in 1981 (Greece) and 1986 (Portugal), the two countries now grew closer together. Before that, they were already partners in NATO , but due to the different geopolitical orientations there were hardly any direct contacts.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias (right) and his Portuguese counterpart Augusto Santos Silva (left) in 2016

A first agreement on cooperation in culture and science in 1980 was followed by a bilateral aviation agreement in 1986. In 1999 the two countries signed a double taxation agreement and a first agreement to prevent tax evasion .

Portugal was one of the first countries to introduce the common currency, the euro, in 1999 , followed by Greece in 2001. In both countries, the euro was introduced as cash on January 1, 2002 .

In the course of the euro crisis in 2010, both countries, as part of the so-called GIIPS states, got into a severe economic crisis and subsequently received aid from the controversial euro rescue package . They were both among the European countries with the highest national debt ratio . While Portugal was able to leave the rescue package in 2014, the Greek sovereign debt crisis is still ongoing (as of 2017).

Portugal's Prime Minister António Costa last visited Greece in 2016 and met his counterpart Alexis Tsipras there . Costa promised Greece further support in dealing with the influx of refugees. Portugal is already involved in various programs in the Aegean Sea with naval and police contingents .

diplomacy

Portugal has an embassy in the Greek capital, Athens , at Vassilissis Sofias Av. Number 23. Portuguese honorary consulates are also set up in Thessaloniki , Piraeus and on the island of Corfu .

The Greek representation in Portugal is located at 13 Rua Alto Do Duque , in the Restelo district of the Lisbon municipality of Belém . There are also Greek honorary consulates in Porto , Funchal (on the island of Madeira ) and in Ponta Delgada (on the Azores ).

Town twinning

After joining the EU in 1981 and 1986, respectively, Greek and Portuguese municipalities became city ​​and municipality friendships in 1989 . So far, four of these partnerships have emerged as part of European integration (as of 2010).

economy

The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP has a branch in Greece at the Portuguese Embassy in Athens. The Greek Economic and Commercial Affairs Offices maintain an office at the Greek Embassy in Lisbon.

Fishing port in Samothraki : Fish is Greece's most important export to Portugal

In 2016, Portugal exported goods and services worth 154.9 million euros to Greece ( 2015 : 176.1 million; 2014 : 225.0 million; 2013 : 234.7 million; 2012 : 263.5 million .). The share of goods was EUR 125.5 million, of which 17.9% plastics and rubber, 15.1% food, 11.4% machines and devices, 10.5% paper and cellulose and 7.7% agricultural products.

In the same period, Greece delivered goods and services worth 173.1 million euros to Portugal ( 2015 : 154.0 million; 2014 : 135.4 million; 2013 : 136.1 million; 2012 : 129.1 million .). The share of goods amounted to 146.1 million euros, of which 33.1% agricultural products, 20.0% machines and devices, 10.0% plastics and rubber, 8.0% metal goods and 7.2% textiles.

This put Greece in 40th place in Portuguese foreign trade both as a buyer and as a supplier, while in 2016 Portugal was in 36th place among buyers and 49th among suppliers in Greece's foreign trade.

The largely balanced balance of services of around 40 million euros each (2016) consisted predominantly of income from mutual tourism .

Culture

The Portuguese fado singer Amália Rodrigues was known since her first appearance in 1959 in Greece, where she also published. Her album Vou dar de beber à dor (1969) was released by Columbia, after EPs had already been released in Greece. Other albums followed, especially compilations in the 1970s.

The Portuguese group Madredeus has been popular there since their first appearance in Greece in 1992 and reached high positions in the music charts with some of their releases there . Her piece " O Pastor " in particular gained a lot of fame and is still covered by Greek musicians today .

Moonspell from Portugal are also popular among Greek heavy metal fans and have performed there several times.

Sports

Soccer

Charisteas' winning goal in the 2004 European Championship finals

The Greek national soccer team and the Portuguese national team have met 14 times so far, for the first time during qualifying for the 1970 World Cup . On December 11, 1968, the reigning third of the 1966 World Cup was surprisingly defeated by Portugal in Piraeus 2: 4. The most striking encounter, however, took place during the 2004 European Football Championship in Portugal: Greece defeated the hosts 1-0 on July 4, 2004 in the final at the Estádio da Luz and became European champions for the first time. Overall, the Portuguese remained victorious five times, the Greeks won four times, and they were drawn five times (as of the end of 2017).

The Greek and Portuguese women's national football teams have met five times so far, with four Portuguese wins and one draw. They played against each other for the first time on January 21, 2002, Portugal won 3-0 at home in Rio Maior . The Greek women took part in the Algarve Cup twice (2003 and 2004) and finished like the hosts without a title.

Eleni Daniilidou 2011

tennis

When most important Portuguese tennis tournament for women, the WTA Oeiras , came in 2011 , the Greek Eleni Daniilidou in the doubles with the Dutch Michaëlla Krajicek reached the final before, where they eventually succumbed. At the most important Portuguese men's tournament, the ATP Estoril , no Greek has so far been able to reach a final.

The 2009 ATP Challenger Athens was finished by the Portuguese Rui Machado as the winner.

Other

In the CAR Centro Náutico de Montemor-o-Velho , venue of the European Rowing and Canoeing Championships in Portugal

At the European Rowing Championships 2010 in Montemor-o-Velho , Greece achieved third place with two gold and one silver medal, while host Portugal came in 12th with a silver and a bronze medal.

The Portuguese Oliveira João won the Greek ultramarathon Spartathlon in 2013.

Web links

Commons : Relations between Greece and Portugal  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Overview of diplomatic relations with Greece at the Diplomatic Institute in the Portuguese Foreign Ministry , accessed on May 4, 2019
  2. ↑ a b Overview of Greek-Portuguese relations at the Greek Foreign Ministry (Greek, English, French), accessed on February 16, 2018
  3. ↑ Number of foreigners in the official foreigner statistics by district , Portuguese Immigration and Border Authority SEF, accessed on February 16, 2018
  4. ^ Website on Greek-Portuguese migration at the Portuguese Scientific Observatório da Emigração, accessed on February 16, 2018
  5. ↑ Communication of April 20, 2016 on Antonio Costa's state visit to Greece ( Memento of the original of February 16, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Website of the Portuguese Embassy in Greece, accessed February 16, 2018 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.atenas.embaixadaportugal.mne.pt
  6. ↑ Consular contacts in Greece , website of the Portuguese embassy in Athens (Portuguese, Greek, English), accessed on February 16, 2018
  7. ↑ List of the Greek-Portuguese town twinning on the website of the Association of Portuguese District Government ANMP, accessed on February 11, 2018
  8. ↑ Website of the AICEP Athens office , accessed on February 11, 2018
  9. ↑ List of ECA offices at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs (English, Greek), accessed on February 16, 2018
  10. ↑ a b c d Bilateral Economic Relations between Portugal and Greece , AICEP website, accessed on February 11, 2018
  11. ↑ Cristina Faria, Joaquim Vieira: Amália Rodrigues. Temas & Debates, Lisbon 2008 ( ISBN 978-989-644-032-9 ), p. 194
  12. ↑ Ramiro Guiñazú: Amália no Mundo. Tradisom , Vila Verde 2014 ( ISBN 978-972-864-436-9 ), pp. 178, 282, 291
  13. ↑ Studio version by the Greek singer Danai Tezapsidou (2018) and live recording by the Greek group Namaste Band (2014) , viewed on YouTube on February 16, 2018