WGA 2020 | Greece | Conclusions

Conclusions

Question:
Overall, in what ways and with what success has your country implemented a WGA? What would you consider the success factors underpinning a WGA in your country?

Greece Expert

Giorgos Triantafyllou

Research Fellow, South-East Europe Programme, Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), Athens

Giorgos Triantafyllou is a Research Fellow at the South-East Europe Programme of the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and a Research Associate at the Center for Security Studies (KEMEA) of Greece’s Ministry for Citizen Protection. Based in Athens, his research interests include international and European security, conflict in the Balkans, security and migration, international institutions and peace operations, peacebuilding and statebuilding, NATO and the EU. Giorgos previously worked as a Consultant for the Western Balkans and the Peacebuilding programmes of the New York-based Rockefeller Brothers Fund. From 2008 to 2012, he was an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Kent, where he taught International History, International Relations and International Governance. Giorgos holds a PhD and MA in International Conflict Analysis from the University of Kent, where he focused on the provision of security during peacebuilding operations in the Balkans. He also holds a BA in International and European Studies from Panteion University in Athens.

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To sum up, elements of Greece’s implementation of a WGA in relation to external crises and conflicts are evident in the country’s participation in CSDP missions and PESCO projects. Yet, as already mentioned, it was not until 2018 that a formal national document, the Voluntary National Review on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (VNR) (General Secretariat of the Government 2018), made an explicit reference to the adoption of a WGA in efforts to successfully accomplish the SDGs at the national level. Unquestionably, this is a rather significant indication that the WGA concept is no longer an alien idea in Greece, and that it is likely that similar references will be made at some future point regarding different policy areas. Nevertheless, the country is still quite far from implementing a comprehensive WGA that encompasses all policy areas, including those related to external crises and conflicts.

Indeed, for the most of part, policy coherence in Greece depends not on the existence of a formally articulated WGA strategy, but rather on the degree of cooperation and coordination among actors engaged with the given policies. Law 4622/19 (Government Gazette 2019c) (discussed above) was definitely a step towards introducing elements of a WGA at the central-government level, yet a clearly articulated WGA framework is still missing.

Drawing from the information presented above, it can be argued that the factors underpinning the success of a WGA in Greece are: (1) the level at which a WGA is initiated, with evidence indicating that policy coherence is more effective when initiated above the ministerial level; (2) the number of actors involved in the WGA framework, which is something that differentiates WGA from more narrow coordination frameworks; (3) the nature of the coordinating actors, as rather than being narrowed to inter-ministerial cooperation, a comprehensive WGA framework should also incorporate actors from regional and local administrations, the private sector and civil society; and (4) the existence of a well-developed WGA framework at the international level. Although these factors would not guarantee a WGA at the national level, they may offer valuable guidance for those wishing to develop and implement a WGA in Greece.

Taking into consideration these factors, the policy area in which Greece seems to be closer to an effective implementation of a WGA model is sustainable development. In addition to providing secretarial support to the relevant inter-ministerial committee, the General Secretariat of the Government coordinates with a wide array of actors in this area in order to develop policies aligned with the WGA framework set out by the UN.

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