Greece’s new Balkan Economic Relations: policy shifts but no structural change

Abstract

The advent of transition in the former communist countries set in motion significant changes not only in the countries concerned but also in the economic and geo-political environment of Greece. Together with many positive developments, some new challenges also emerged, as the country was suddenly presented with a new set of political problems and economic threats and opportunities that were urgently calling for a new approach to managing its economic and international relations. This paper examines exactly these developments in the Greek foreign economic policy in the Balkans and argues that, despite some significant innovations and policy shifts, a paradigmatic structural change in Greece’s economic approach to the region is still lacking.