Download Greece - European Alcohol Policy Alliance

Case studies Greece Greece Country description Greece, also known as Hellas and officially known as the "Hellenic Republic", is the most southeastern country in Europe. It occupies the southern part of the Balkan Area bordering Albania, FYROM and Bulgaria from the north, and the European part of Turkey from the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, while the Mediterranean Sea is its southward frontier. The country covers a total area of 131,957 square kilometers. According to preliminary results of the recent Census of Population conducted by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (official statistical body) in May 2011, the permanent population of Greece is 10.787.690; 5.303.690 (49,2%) males and 5.484.000 (50,8%) females (HSA, 2011). Greece is a parliamentary republic. It has been a member of the European Union since 1981 and a member of NATO since 1952. It is also a founding member of the United Nations. It joined the Eurozone in 2001. The capital of the country is Athens which lies in Central Greece. The main harbor of Greece is Piraeus, the second largest in the Mediterranean Sea, after Marseilles in France, located in the south‐westwards of Athens. Greece is divided into nine geographic regions. The population of each region according to the 2001 census shows that the majority of the population lives in Central Greece (HSA, 2010), and in particular in the Capital, Athens. The current (as of 2011) official administrative districts of Greece are 13 “peripheries” (nine on the mainland and four island groups), which are further subdivided into 325 municipalities (Law 3852/2010). Preliminary results of the 2011 census show a decrease in the country's population which is currently 10,787,690, a drop of 1.6%, in the last decade. As statistics from 1971, 1981, and 2001 show, the Greek population has been ageing in the past several decades, showing a rapid increase in the percentage of elderly people and a large decrease in the percentage of the population aged 0‐14 years old. In regards to migration, Greece receives many undocumented immigrants due to its crucial geopolitical position and the tense political scenery in the Arab countries (EurActiv, 2011). The volume of legal immigrants is also large. Thus, Greece is confronting three related demographic challenges. The first is the ageing of the population and the second is population decline in the near future. The third challenge is that natural population growth is diminishing and migration is the main engine of slow population growth (Economou, 2010). Economic Context Greece is a member of the European Union, the eurozone, the OECD, the World Trade Organization and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization. Case studies Greece The economy of Greece is the 32nd largest in the world by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and the 34th largest at purchasing power parity (PPP), according to data from the World Bank for the year 2010. Per capita, it is ranked 24th by nominal GDP and 23rd at PPP according to the 2009 data. The public sector accounts for about 40% of GDP, while the service sector contributes 78.5%, industry 17.6%, and agriculture 4%. The shipping industry is steadily one of the country's most important industries. It accounts for 4.5% of GDP, employs about 160,000 people (4% of the workforce), and represents 1/3 of the country's trade deficit. Tourism is another important industry, since Greece attracts more than 16 million tourists each year, thus contributing between 15% and 25% to the nation's Gross Domestic Product (HSA, 2011). Following the economic boom that took place during the ’90s, since the end of 2009 the Greek economy has been facing a severe economic crisis with crucial consequences for the international economy, as a result of a combination of international and local factors (Kouretas & Vlamis, 2010). The primary characteristics of the crisis include a large fiscal deficit, enormous public debt, decreasing GDP, increasing unemployment and the continuous deterioration of Greece’s competitive position. The country has received a financial support package from the EU, the European central Bank and the IMF, according to which strict austerity measures have been applied aiming at reducing the fiscal deficit and restoring market confidence (Economou, 2010). Workplace and labor health laws/policies and institutional responsibilities By law the Hellenic Ministry of Labour and Social Security is responsible for all issues concerning the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) at national level. Under the Ministry there are two main state OSH authorities: 1. The General Directorate of Working Conditions and Health, which is responsible for all OSH aspects (including legislation, strategy, policies, organization, information, education, training and research issues), and, from an administrative point of view, is also the authorized host organization of the Greek FOP in the Hellenic Ministry of Labour and Social Security. 2. The Labour Inspectorate (S.EP.E.), which, as the responsible inspection and enforcement authority it implements the national labour legislation. Through the establishment of a national OSH social dialogue, the above mentioned authorities in close collaboration with the national OSH social partners and other involved scientific organizations and institutions, are essentially contributing to the common mission of enhancing the conditions in the working environment, protecting the safety and health at work by decreasing work‐related accidents and occupational diseases and promoting an OSH prevention and protection culture in Greece (EASHW, 2010). According to the 1568/85 law concerning occupational health and safety and the presidential decrees 294/85 and 12/96, employers have the main responsibility for the safety and health of their employees, providing services of protection and prevention. More specifically, in all workplaces, regardless of the company size, the employer is obliged to provide services of safety engineers/technicians. In enterprises that employ more than 50 employees the employer is obliged to employ an occupational physician. This is also the case for enterprises that involve exposure to chemicals, carcinogens, etc., even if the company size is smaller than 50 employees. In order to comply with the aforementioned obligations, safety engineers/technicians or occupational physicians in workplaces can be exclusively employed by the company or provide their services as external consultants (e.g. External Protection and Prevention Services). Case studies Greece Alcohol policies Generally, the European policies that have been adopted by many Member States and have taken sufficient legal form as regards to alcohol use are centered on the trade aspects of alcohol in a health – oriented frame which emphasizes the dangerous effects of alcohol use. Therefore, the European policies, which take the form of laws aim at the control of alcohol. The main parameters of these policies are the following (Commission of the European Communities, 2006): 
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Legal determination of alcohol drinks Restrictions on the accessibility of alcohol Legal frame about driving under the influence of alcohol Prices and taxes of alcohol Restrictions on the advertisement and sponsorship Places of free alcohol consumption Greece Alcohol consumption is part of the Greek culture and an essential element of Greek eating habits. Alcohol ‐especially wine‐ is traditionally part of everyday Greek meals. As regards alcohol consumption, Greece is ranked at a medium position among other EU‐countries (WHO, 2008). Concerning alcohol policies in Greece and particularly in reference to workplaces, a comprehensive review was conducted with a number of Greek and English keywords used to search a variety of electronic databases. However, findings were relatively few, yet revealing the Greek reality in terms of alcohol policies. With regard to the applied measures and policies on alcohol in Greece, these are related to three main aspects (Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity, 2008): 
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qualitative control of the production of alcoholic drinks prohibition of alcohol trade and consumption for youths under 17 years old prohibition of driving with alcohol concentration in blood higher than 0,5% The effective enforcement of alcohol trade prohibition among youths is rather controversial, since there are no further control and monitoring measures for alcohol consumption among these ages. On the contrary, checks as regards to alcohol consumption and driving are rather continuous and consistent. In Greece no further specific policies are implemented on alcohol. Particularly as far as alcohol in the workplace is concerned, there are no established restrictions although further preventive actions in labour places are predicted in the National Act of Action for the Restriction of Damaging effects of Alcohol in Health (Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity, 2008). It can be stated that in Greece each company is responsible for alcohol consumption within its offices and facilities. Therefore, multinational companies that operate according to Case studies Greece international standards obtained by the central corporate are the main bodies that foresee alcohol policies. Consequently, the case studies presented below have been taken from multinational companies. Both companies are in the alcohol production and trade industry. References Commission of the European Communities. (2006). EU strategy to support Member States in reducing alcohol related harm. Retrieved from, http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/alcohol/documents/alcohol_com_625
_en.pdf Economou, C. (2010). Greece: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 12 (7), 1‐
180. EurActiv, (2011). Greece measures Arab Spring immigration impact. Retrieved from, http://www.euractiv.com/justice/greece‐measures‐arab‐spring‐immi‐news‐509109 Eurostat (2010). Migration and migrant population statistics. Retrieved from, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Migration_and_migrant_pop
ulation_statistics Hellenic Statistical Authority (2010). Labour Force Survey. Retrieved from, http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A0101/PressReleases/A0101_SJO0
2_DT_MM_04_2011_01_F_EN.pdf Hellenic Statistical Authority. (2011). Preliminary Results of the Census of Population 2011. Hellenic Statistical Authority. (2011). The Greek Economy. Retrieved from, http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/General/greek_economy.pdf Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity (2008). National Act of Action for the Restriction of Damaging effects of Alcohol in Health 2008‐2012. Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity. Ministry of Social Security and Labour (2011). Department of Work Inspection. Retrieved from, http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/dli/dli.nsf/dmllegislation_New_gr?openform&p=1&t=f&e= Kouretas, G. P. & Vlamis, P. (2010). The Greek Crisis: Causes and Implications. Panoeconomicus, 4, pp. 391‐404. WHO (2008). European health for all database. Regional Office for Europe. Retrieved from, http://hfadb.who.dk/hfa WHO (2001). Declaration on Young People and Alcohol. Regional Office Europe. Retrieved from, http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/88589/E73074.pdf WHO (1995). European Charter on Alcohol. Regional Office Europe. Retrieved from, http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/79406/EUR_ICP_ALDT_94_03_CN01.p
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