basil mossaidis, athens news interview

7/27/2019 Basil Mossaidis, Athens News Interview

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FRIDAY 9 AUGUST 2013 . No 2 . WEEKLY NEWSPAPER . GREECE IN ENGLISH . www,athensview

IWildfires raged in theforested outskirts ofthe capital this week,burning about 10homes in the Marathonas and Varibobiareas north of 1

8 I.


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0 ATHENS VIEWS INTERVIEW

Greek-Americans: "We have the best of both worldsAhepa s executivedirector urges thegovernmentto be sincere inenacting thebureaucratic changesneededto ease thefacilitation ofinvestment

By Misyrlena EgkolfopoulouW ile walkingdown 14th. street in Washington, DC onealways sees a large crowd huddled between Constitution andIndependence Avenue. That isthe point where one can bestadmire the glory of the capitalof the United States. On oneside lies the US Capitol building, a 1atge, white sandstonebuilding that is surrounded bypillars similar to those holdingup the Parthenon. The domeon the central part of the building was inspired by the ParisPantheon. On the other side,standing on a rise, is the glorious Washington Monument,surrounded by star-spangledbanners that furl and unfurl despite the dry Washingtonianweather. Behind the monument, one can faintly see theLincoln Memorial, a creationthat mirrors a classic Greek

of Washington on his way tomeet with US President BarakObama. The Significance of hisvisit has sparked a debateabout the agenda the two leaders have in mind in terms ofGreek-American relations. Froma political standpoint, the .twocountries have cooperated andcoordinated on many levels including security, military andanti-terrorism issues. But Mossaidis believes that this meetingserves another purpose: publicity."When a world leader visits thepresident of the United States,they do it purely for the prestige," he explains. He believesthat the perception is far moreimportant than anything else.

. "Prime Minister Samaras isshowing the Greek citizenry, aswell as Greek allies and enemies, that he is on a somewhatequal footing with PresidentObama. It's purely symbolicmore than anything else, because it reinforces his worthiness to the Greek people andto other leaders."From the US point of view,Mossaidis admits that there isa geographic importance toGreece that doesn't go unnoticed . Greece, located on apathway to Europe, theMediterranean and Asia, has always been a hotbed in the region, especially at a time whencountries in the Middle East andNorth Africa are experiencingrevolutionary turmoil. "Greeceis one hour away from Syria,Libya, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey...here, one hour from Washing

ton you are in Baltimore," Mossaidis jokes. With its Westerndemocratic regime, Greece becomes the ultimate place wherethe United States can look toincrease its presence in the re-gion.Mossaidis hopes that this meeting will generate plans for directUS-Greece investment andtrade opportunities but ac-knowledges that this will requirecooperation from both sides."The US must be sincere inmaking opportunities available

and Greece must be sincere inenacting the bureaucraticchanges needed to ease the facilitation of investment inGreece," he observes.But perhaps one of the mostimportant issues that need tobe discussed during Samaras'visit is whether Obama will bepersuaded to push the European Union to ease its austeritymeasures, in order to helpstruggling European countrieslike Greece get out of their crisisin a more timely manner. Some


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Ahepa executivedirector urges thegovernmentto be sincere inenacting thebureaucratic changesneeded to ease thefacilitation ofinvestment

By Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou

W ile walkingdown 14thstreet in Washington, DC onealways sees a large crowd huddled between Constitution andIndependence Avenue. That isthe point where one can bestadmire the glory of the capitalof the United States. On oneside lies the US Capitol building, a large, white sandstonebuilding that is surrounded bypillars similar to those holdingup the Parthenon. The domeon the central part of the building was inspired by the ParisPantheon. On the other side,standing on a rise, is the glorious Washington Monument,surrounded by star-spangledbanners that furl and unfurl de-spite the dry Washingtonianweather. Behind the monu-ment, one can faintly see theLincoln Memorial, a creationthat mirrors a classic Greektemple, surrounded by classicDoric sandstone pillars."You can't tell me that you don'tthink of Athens," says BasilMossaidis, who has been walking these streets for years. "It'snot by accident," he adds .Mossaidis is the executive director of the American HellenicEducational Progressive Association (AH EPA) , a service organization that prqmotes andpreserves Greek identity in theUnited States.On August 8, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will bethe one traversing the streets

of Washington on his way tomeet with US President BarakObama. The significance of hisvisit has sparked a debateabout the agenda the two leaders have in mind in terms ofGreek-American relations. Froma political standpoint, the twocountries have cooperated andcoordinated on many levels including security, military andanti-terrorism issues. But Mossaid is believes that this meetingserves another purpose: pub-licity."When a world leader visits thepresident of the United States,they do it purely for the prestige," he explains. He believesthat the perception is far moreimportant than anything else."Prime Minister Samaras isshowing the Greek citizenry, aswell as Greek allies and enemies, that he is on a somewhatequal footing with PresidentObama. It's purely symbolicmore than anything else, because it reinforces his worthiness to the Greek people andto other leaders."From .the US point of view,Mossaidis admits that there isa geographic importance toGreece that doesn't go unnoticed. Greece, located on apathway to Europe, theMediterranean and Asia, has always been a hotbed in the region, especially at a time whencountries in the Middle East andNorth Africa are experiencingrevolutionary turmoil. "Greeceis one hour away from Syria,Libya, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey ...here, one hour from Washing

ton you are in Baltimore," Mossaid s jokes. With its Western democratic regime, Greece becomes the ultimate place where the United States can look to increase its presence in the region. Mossaidis hopes that this meeting will generate plans for direct US-Greece investment and

. trade opportunities but ac-knowledges that this will requirecooperation from both sides ."The US must be sincere inmaking opportunities available

and Greece must be sinenacting the bureauchanges needed to easecilitation of investmeGreece," he observes.But perhaps one of theimportant issues that nebe discussed during Samvisit is whether Obama persuaded to push thepean Union to ease its aumeasures, in order tostruggling European coulike Greece get out of theiin a more timely manner.


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of Washington on his way tomeet with US President BarakObama. The significance of hisvisit has sparked a debateabout the agenda the two leaders have in mind in terms ofGreek-American relations. Froma political standpoint, the .twocountries have cooperated andcoordinated on many levels including security, military andanti-terrorism issues. But Mossaidis believe? that this meeting

;?'.o ,-. ,.. , "'!Itserves another purpose: publicity."When a world leader visits thepresident of the United States,they do it purely for the prestige," he explains. He believesthat the perception is far moreimportant than anything else."Prime Minister Samaras isshowing the Greek citizenry, aswell as Greek allies and enemies, that he is on a somewhatequal footing with PresidentObama. It's purely symbolicmore than anything else, because it reinforces his worthiness to the Greek people andto other leaders."From the US point of view,Mossaidis admits that there isa geographic importance toGreece that doesn't go unnoticed. Greece, located on apathway to Europe, theMediterranean and Asia, has always been a hotbed in the region, especially at a time whencountries in the Middle East andNorth Africa are experiencingrevolutionary turmoil. "Greeceis one hour away from Syria,Libya, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey...here, one hour from Washing

ton you are in Baltimore," Mos saidis jokes. With its Western democratic regime, Greece be comes the ultimate place where the United States can look to increase its presence in the re gion. Mossaidis hopes that this meet ing will generate plans for direct US-Greece investment and trade opportunities but ac knowledges that this will require cooperation from both sides. "The US must be sincere in making opportunities available

and Greece must be sincere inenacting the bureaucraticchanges needed to ease the facilitation of investment inGreece," he observes.But perhaps one of the mostimportant issues that need tobe discussed during Samaras'visit is whether Obama will bepersuaded to push the European Union to ease its austeritymeasures, in order to helpstruggling European countrieslike Greece get out of their crisisin a more timely manner. Some

argue that less austerity couldstabilise the European economyfaster and would be beneficiafor any global economy in thelong run, including the UnitedStates.Although Mossaidis acknowledges the importance of thestart of Transatlantic Trade andInvestment Partnership (T-TIP)negotiations, a trade and investment agreement betweenthe U.S. and EU that could potentially help Greece, he still hasreservations about its direcbenefit to Greece's economy."Europe's dysfunction goes farbeyond the crisis in GreeceSpain of Portugal ," he says, referring to the isolation of EUmember-states when a crisisbreaks out. "In the U.S., whenone state has a problem, theentire federal republic rushes tohelp that state out of its crisis.That's not how the EU works ...if it acted with more cooperation, it wouldn't matter thaGreece's economy is problematic," he adds.Mossaidis goes on to call theGreek austerity measures "selfimposed". He explains thathere were options on the tablereferring to Greece's decisionto accept austerity and figureout a way to make ends meetrather than saying no and dropping out of the EU."The Greeks took it upon themselves to accept those measures and figure out how it's besto make it work," he explainsSo what now? "The middleclass working citizens need tomodernise the way they dobusiness; if every single taxpaying citizen pays their taxesif they fill out the paperwork anddo what they are supposed todo, things will get better," hebelieves, adding that the currenstruggle is necessary in theoverall improvement of theGreek nation. "Yes, there's moreunemployment, there's morehomelessness but these arenecessary steps on to bettedays," he says.Greek citizens have felt theshockwave of the crisis in theisalaries, pensions or even employment status. But perhapsthe million-dollar question is towhat extent should the Greekgovernment be held responsible for leading the countrydown this path. Mossaidis explains the increased politica


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"Europe's dysfunction 90es far beyond thecrisis in Greece, Spain of Portu9al. In the US,when one state has aproblem, the entirefederal republic rushes to help that state outof its crisis. That's not how the EU works...

distrust that Greeks feel is asign that the government letthem down."Politicians took tremendousadvantage of their citizenry,they stole money and theywere involved in money-laundering. It's a shame that a fewcorrupt individuals have ruinedthe system of government inGreece," says Mossaidis,echoing the current thoughtsof many Greeks. While the return of confidence in theelected leadership is crucial toGreece's revival, Mossaidis hadaproposition."Greece should discharge themembers of the parliament,send them on a two-year sabbatical, and ask every 75-year-old person to come andfill their spot." The age specification represents Mossaidis'belief that the older generationunderstands what sacrificemeans and what type of effortneeds to be exerted to savethe country. "I'm not an economist and I don't know what

year old son refused to joinhim in their yearly trip toGreece after watching thenews, Mossaidis knew that themedia were hurting Greece'sstrongest trait: tourism. Thistrait could be Greece's way outof the crisis. As he sees it, "Thebest way is to go visit. If 10million Greeks of the Diasporavisited Greece and spent$2,000-$3,000 dollars, that's$3 billion dollars right there."America's eagerness to helpGreece is directly related tothe influence Greece has hadon Washington's most'important government buildings.Hence th&comparisons hedrew between the capital'sbuildings and Athens. "Youcan't tell me that it doesn't remind you of Athens," Mos-said s repeats. "It's not an accident that this country wasbuilt the way it was built. Historically, America has had aromantic love affair withGreece," he adds.Mossaidis is referring to Amer-

The middle-class working citizens needto modernise the way they do business; if everysingle tax-paying citizen pays their taxes, if theyfill out the paperwork and do what they aresupposed to do, things will get better

the answer is but we needsome sort of drastic shift towake everybody up," he adds.This "drastic shift" is not re-strained only within Greece'sboarders. With Mossaidis atthe forefront, organisationslike AHEPA have trying to helpGreece overcome the crisisfrom afar. They sent millionsof dollars' worth of medicalsupplies to hospitals alloverGreece and prepared foodkits through the Greek Churchin the U.S. to help people thatdon't have the abiHty to eat.Their help does not stopthere. AHEPA has also beentrying to help improveGreece's image abroad, bytalking to news outlets thath::lVA nvp.r-Rp.nsationalized the .

ica's founding fathers, who valued the ancient Greek principles enough to create a nationbased on the democratic andbrotherly values set forth byGreece. Thus, it's only naturalthat Mossaidis considers himself a contributor to the greatest nationality combination inthe world, Greek-American."I have the freedom that America offers but designed by myforefathers, the ancientGreeks," he explains. His faithin Greece is evident and he iscertain that Greeks are extremely able to sacrifice anddo what is necessary to maketheir economy work, more sothan any other nation in Europe, he asserts, wrapping upour conversation with opti-

Chinese New legislation aims tolure wealthy immigrantsfrom China willing toinvest big in residentialpropertyBy Kathy TzilivakisA esidence permit isnotoriously difficultto get in Greecemainly because ofthe difficult-to-meet applicationrequirements and a gruelling bureaucratic pro' who come withcapital.:. from China.New legislation (Law 4146/2013)allows immigrants who spend atleast a quarter of a million euroson residential property to automatically obtain a renewable ffveyear residence permit. Threewealthy Chinese immigrants havejust been issued this five-yearpermit upon the purchase ofproperty in Athens.At least two more Chinese immigrant home-buyers are in theprocess of securing their residence permits. According to officials at the Ministries of Development and Interior, a largenumber of Chinese citizens(many of them eager to leavetheir country) are in the processof applying for these special permits.In July, Deputy DevelopmentMinister Notis Mitarakis met withrepresentatives of Maslink, anemigration service company inChina with branch offices acrossEurope and the United States,todiscuss the growing interestamong Chinese citizens to purchase property in Greece in exchange for the permit. Mitarakismet with Maslink's vice president,Li Hao.Greece is just one of many cashstrapped countries slashing requirements for visas and residency in the hope drawingmuch-needed investment. In Europe, it's the cheapest option.Portugal, for instance, has begungranting visas to immigrants whopurchase a house valued at500,000 euros or more. Neighbouring Cyprus launched a simi-

Immigrants who spenamillion euros on res[ obtain a renewable fi

to promote Greece's real einvestment attractions.Meanwhile, Mitarakis hasmet with representatives ofDesign, an international devment firm based in Beijingcording to an announcepublished online by the Gmbassy in Beijing, theycussed the company's plabuild a lUXUry housing comin Greece in order to attractnese citizens.Mitarakis met with James Jformer New York City plancommissioner who foundecompany in 1984. The AtNews Agency reported thatwo men discussed incentivdirect foreign investments alicensing system in Greece.In July, Greece's embassy horganize an investment foruChina to brief immigration agrepresentatives there aboucountry's new investment-igration law.Chinese immigrants in Greece . The Chinese immigrant comnity in Athens is small and In 2008, officials estim30,000 Chinese living and ing here. Today, fewer


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_. _ . . __ ._ dering. It's a shame that a fewcorrupt individuals have ru inedthe system of government inGreece," says Mossaidis,echoing the current thoughtsof many Greeks. While the return of confidence in theelected leadership is crucial toGreece's revival, Mossaidis hada pr9Position. . ."Greece should discharge themembers of the parliament,send them on a two-year sabbatical, and ask every 75-year-old person to come andfill their spot." The age speci-fication represents Mossaidis'belief that the older generationunderstands what sacrificemeans and what type of effortneeds to be exerted to savethe country. "I 'm not an econ-omist and I don't know what

of the crisis. As he sees it, "Thebest way is to go visit. If 10million Greeks of the Diasporavisited Greece and spent$2,000-$3,000 dollars, that's$3 billion dollars right there."America's eagerness to helpGreece is directly related tothe influence Greece h'as hadonWashington's most"important government buildings.Hence -the comparisons hedrew between the capital's buildings and Athens. "Youcan't tell me that it doesn 't remind you of Athens," Mos-said s repeats. "It's not an accident that this country wasbuilt the way it was built. Historically, America has had aromantic love affair withGreece," he adds.Mossaidis is referring to Amer-

The middle-class working citizens needto modernise the way they do business; if everysingle tax-paying citizen pays their taxes, if theyfill out the paperwork and do what they aresupposed to do, things will get better

the answer is but we needsome sort of drastic shift towake everybody up," he adds.This "drastic shift" is not restrained only within Greece'sboarders. With Mossaidis atthe forefront, organisationslike AHEPA have trying to helpGreece overcome the crisisfrom afar. They sent millionsof dollars' worth of medicalsupplies to hospitals all overGreece and prepared foodkits through the Greek Churchin the U.S. to help people thatdon't have the ability to eat.Their help does not stopthere. AHEPA has also beentrying to help improveGreece's image abroad , bytalking to news outlets thathave over-sensationalized the .crisis in what Mossaidis calls"a cry fo r attention"."They were trying to get peopleto watch. hem. Spain, Portugaland Italy are in worse condition, but Greece was thescapegoat of a media frenzy,"he says. When Mossaidis' 14

ica's founding fathers, who valued the ancient Greek principles enough to create a nationbased on the democratic andbrotherly values set forth byGreece. Thus, it's only naturalthat Mossaidis considers himself a contributor to the greatest nationality combination inthe world, Greek-American."I have the freedom that America offers but designed by myforefathers, the ancientGreeks," he explains. His faithin Greece is evident and he iscertain that Greeks are ex-tremely able to sacrifice anddo what is necessary to maketheir economy work, more sothan any other nation in Europe, he asserts, wrapping upour conversation with opti-mism."Greeks have been condi-tioned to sacrifice for a reward.This is just a blip in their wayto maturing in a financial freecountry," he says. "It's just amatter of time until everythingwill be back to normal."

A esidence permit isnotoriously difficultto get in Greecemainly because ofthe difficult-to-meet application requirements and a gruelling bureaucratic progedure, but not so for i m m i g r a n t ~ " who come with capital.:. from China. New legislation (Law 4146/2013) allows immigrants who spend at least a quarter of a million euros on residential property to automatically obtain a renewable fll/eyear residence permit. Three wealthy Chinese immigrants have just been issued this f i v e ~ y e a r permit upon the purchase of property in Athens. At least two more Chinese immigrant home-buyers are in the process of securing their residence permits. According to officials at the Ministries of Development and Interior, a large number of Chinese citizens (many of them eager to leave their country) are in the process of applying for these special permits. In July, Deputy Development Minister Notis Mitarakis met with representatives of Maslink an emigration service c ~ m p a ~ y in China with branch offices across Europe and the United States, to discuss the growing interest among Chinese citizens to purchase property in Greece in exchange for the permit. Mitarakis met with Maslink's vice president, Li Hao. Greece is just one of many cashstrapped countries slashing requirements fo r visas and residency in the hope drawing much-needed investment. In Europe, it's the cheapest option. Portugal, for instance, has begun granting visas to immigrants who purchase a house valued at 500,000 euros or more. Neighbouring Cyprus launched a similar programme recently to attract foreigners willing to spend at least 300,000 euros on a residential property. Maslink, according to informationposted on its website, is activelywooing Chinese by promotingproperties in Greece. The company will soon launch a series ofroadshows.in cities across China.

Immigrantsamillion eurobtain a ren

to promote Greeinvestment attracMeanwhile, Mitamet with represeDesign, an internment firm basedcording to an published onlineembassy in Becussed the combuild a lUXUry hoin Greeee in ordenese citizens.Mitarakis met witformer New Yorcommissioner wcompany in 198News Agency retwo men discussedirect foreign invlicensing systemIn July, Greece's eorganize an inveChina to brief immrepresentatives tcountry's new ingration law.Chinese immigrin Greece The Chinese immnity in Athens is In 2008, offici30,000 Chinese ling here. Toda15,000 are beliGreece. The restto China or emiEuropean Unioncause of the econthe ever-changinnarily difficult resapplication-proceIt is estimated _ _c91}0mic crisis
http:///reader/full/roadshows.inhttp:///reader/full/roadshows.in

basil mossaidis, athens news interview

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