As part of his ongoing mission to attract foreign investors, the Prime Minister Antonis Samaras met yesterday with Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt, who was in Athens for the upcoming Greek presidency of the EU.
Google is being investigated by the EU because four of its practices were found to conflict with European competition law. These include the management of search results, the use of third party data without permission, as well as the terms and limitations of Google ads. Google’s privacy policies are also under question.
Mr. Schmidt spoke at the Athens Concert Hall and claimed that technological innovation can be the solution to the huge unemployment problem. The Google chairman urged entrepreneurs to take risks to overcome regulatory obstacles and to expose themselves to international competition.
Mr. Schmidt also noted that even though Greece needs to catch up with the technological times and internet economy, it can become a “Mecca” for high-end technology. He then explained that finding “new truths” is part of the solution to the problems affecting Greece and appealed to the government to lift obstacles stifling investments.
The Prime Minister also met with ZTE founder and chairman Hou Weigu and discussed the investment plans of the Chinese telecommunications company in Greece. ZTE will establish a supply center in Pireus, with plans of developing a European repair and maintenance center in Attica. These plans could create 400 to 600 jobs. The ultimate plan is to eventually turn its repair center into an assembly line, so that ZTE products can then be labeled as made in the EU.
The Chinese company has asked for Greek support in its endeavors, since the EU’s General Directorate of Trade have pointed out that many of ZTE’s products do not comply with anti-dumping regulations and as such, could face significant levies. While China and the EU have agreed to a moratorium, the matter of cheap Chinese technological products will likely be discussed during Greece’s EU presidency, in an effort to avoid an international trade war.
