Reporter: China in Greece
3,736 views · Published 26 June 2012 · 4:35 · Indexed 8 November 2026
Channel: European Parliament · 2012 · News & Politics
The port of Piraeus is the EU's southern gateway to the Mediterranean. The port has changed radically in the past two years. The Chinese company Cosco has bought the management of Pier No. 2 for 35 years. What will the future hold? Will it benefit Greece? How important for Europe is the presence of the Chinese giant at its borders? EuroparlTV went to the Greek port. Cosco's ambition is to transform Piraeus into a Mediterranean Singapore, and for the last two years it has been investing in the Greek port. Captain Fu Cheng Qiu is the managing director. How important is the strategic role of Piraeus for Cosco? We studied it for a long time. We think that the port of Piraeus is a very important harbour, because it has a very good location between the Far East and the Mediterranean and Europe. In the past two years, container activity on Pier No. 2 has increased. New clients, increased traffic, and bigger ships. Nearly 1/5 of containers arriving in Piraeus are destined for the Greek market. The rest are destined for other, mainly European, markets. All 20 of the biggest shipping lines go to this terminal. Today, the port is divided into two parts. Here is the boundary. Cosco on one side, Piraeus Port Authority on the other. It was difficult for Cosco in the beginning. The dockers wanted to annul the agreement. Cosco gave them a good chance. Cosco is their future. Cosco is here to stay. The future looks bright for the local economy. Giorgos and Babis have worked in the Greek part of the port for years. They represent the dockworkers' union. Our income has been cut by 35% since 2009, but people who work for Cosco are paid much lower wages. This is due to Cosco's policy of working with subcontractors. How Cosco operates its pier is their business, we do not interfere. We are trying to preserve our industrial relations during this difficult crisis. You hear a lot, but nothing is proven. Dimitris and Nicos used to work for Cosco through a Greek company. They were fired by the Greek contractor because they tried to create a union. At some point we decided to create a committee to obtain better working conditions in our machinery, which had many problems. As soon as the company was informed, we were fired. The presence of China in Greece was always supported by Greek shipowners. Nicos Vernicos is one of them. He owns tug boats and is working with Cosco. Our workload in Piraeus has increased. I made investments in the tug boat fleet, we hired sailors who are still paid without any pay-cuts to their salaries. Today, Cosco is building a third pier. It wants to expand its investments in other sectors, such as processing. The installation of Cosco in the port of Piraeus boosted the promotion of Chinese products in the centre of Athens enormously. Here is Chinatown, a shopping centre where all the handling is done. The big question is how, with minor processing, products 'Made in China' will be transformed into those 'Made in Europe'. It's easy. For example, if a button is added to a Chinese shirt in Greece, the product acquires a Greek identity, so it can be transferred tax-free all over the European Union. According to many observers, it's an issue that will be targeted by EU control mechanisms in the future. EuroparlTV video ID: 0c3054a3-244e-43bc-a04c-a016011bad20
