Looking back at 2014

Here, the year ended with high drama. In the last few days of December, the car ferry Norman Atlantic blazed on the Adriatic, with tragic loss of life, and the attempt to elect a new President of the Republic failed. If nothing else, 2014 will be remembered because, at its fag end, the country was set on course for a General Election. Much ink and many bytes will be spent on that in the days ahead, and I won’t add to it here. It is clear that, whatever the election result, Greece will face continued economic challenges in the New Year. Still, we shouldn’t overlook what was achieved in 2014: the return of Greece to growth; a record Greek tourist season; a small fall in Greek unemployment; a primary surplus for the second year running.

My year was full of unusually complex and difficult consular cases. Looking after Brits who have become, directly or indirectly, entangled in Greek legal proceedings is one of our biggest responsibilities. I am fortunate to work with a dedicated Consul-General, Consul and four vice-consular teams, who strive to support Brits in difficult circumstances. The legal system here is cumbersome and slow, and it doesn’t always produce the results that I – or my compatriots – would wish for. (Consider that a diplomatic understatement.) But we know that we are here at the British taxpayers’ expense and in the taxpayers’ service, and we strive to do the best for every Brit who calls on our help. It is a point of pride and honour that we should do so. That is why we are here.

My Embassy was busy in 2014, not just with consular business, but with political and commercial work. Some of this work is reactive; some of it is delivered under instruction from London; and some of it is at my initiative. We are here to be assiduous in the promotion of British interests and of British-Greek ties. I believe in hard work and a brisk pace. Sometimes in diplomacy, the pressure is such that we have to move on from one subject to the next without much retrospection. So it feels good to set aside some time to look at what we achieved.

Here are some of our activities that made me proud this year:

1. Advocating economic reform in the EU through a seminar held in the Residence.
2. Promoting Wales and the NATO Summit in Newport. Greece, like the UK, is one of the few NATO members to meet its defence spending commitments. We celebrated the summit with a display of Welsh cooking, music and poetry.
3. The Greek relay for the London Conference to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. One of the biggest conferences ever mounted in London was backed up by a global relay of support events. Our event in Athens attracted speakers of great expertise and passion.
4. Spreading our values by celebrating Greek civil society. At the Queen’s Birthday Party in June, we hosted 1,500 guests (paid for entirely out of sponsorship) and gave a platform to five Greek charities: boroume.gr, www.ornithologiki.gr, www.babyfeat.gr, www.sapt.gr, and www.archelon.gr.
5. Promoting British interests through the Greek Presidency of the European Union. We worked closely with the Presidency on Banking Union, financial services and justice and home affairs.
6. Promoting commercial links through the activities of our UKTI team. I myself paid interesting visits to ENERGEAN Oil & Gas, Elval, Fage, Titan and Vikos, among others.
7. Cultivating Greek-British ties. We commemorated 150 years since the birth of Venizelos, celebrating the life of the greatest Greek statesman – a true friend of Britain – with a stimulating panel discussion of his legacy. And ex-Prime Minister Mitsotakis, Venizelos’ great-nephew, planted a tree in his honour in the Residence garden.

But as regular readers of this blog know, I long ago fell in love with Greece, and have pursued it as an idea, a people, a culture for over thirty years. The love affair continues. My personal highlights of the year include discovering Ithaca; admiring Parthenis and Grammatopoulos at the Theoharakis Foundation; singing along with a Greek audience at the Theodorakis retrospective (‘Ποιος τη ζωή μου…’) at the Badminton Theatre (this great theatre is a real Olympic legacy); and climbing both Athos and Olympus. Greek friendships, new and old, sustained me every day.

I’m also very proud of the work we did to support charitable and voluntary activity in 2014. There will be more in the year to come.

I’m sure that 2015 will bring its challenges. But at the dawn of the year I invite all my readers to be optimistic about what 2015 may bring us. And I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year.