charles_reed
Well-Known Member
Steve, You seem to favour an EU where the same rules and laws should apply everywhere, where the rules and laws should be enforced in the same way everywhere and presumably where all the taxes were the same everywhere?
Wouldn't that sort of EU be a pretty boring place? Apart from the better weather, in that sort of an EU, what would be the attraction in coming to Greece? Yes, Greece has some lovely ports and anchorages but in a fully unified EU the anchorages would be protected (Posidonia seagrass is everywhere) and you'd have to pick up expensive mooring buoys, and in order to meet EU-wide safety concerns the ports would be much more expensive places. We'd all clear off to Turkey, suddenly the visa and blue card rules there would seem like a minor issue.
I love being in Greece in large part because of the way of life here. I swapped the pressurised, highly-organised, rigid and officious UK for the laid-back, calm, friendly and yes, chaotic, Greece. There is an awful lot wrong with Greece, nobody can deny that, but the solution is not to force the Greeks to become more British or more German, that would destroy what makes Greece what she is. The solution is to work with Greece to make their systems more effective and more efficient, but without expecting Greece to become more northern-European in nature.
I think there are two methods for handling the many different ways in which the rules are applied and enforced throughout Greece. One way is to get angry about the inconsistencies, to stress yourself out because one port makes charges another port didn't, or to feel cheated because you know the VAT you just paid will never reach the government. The other way is to just accept it as part of being in Greece, the port charges are not excessive in any case, and when you are asked whether you want a receipt simply smile, say no, and accept that you have just helped defraud the Greek state as well.
Nice (in the original sense) reply Tony.
I was in Liminas Mesta on Chios - I paid my arrival tax and for the first 2 days, when I was asked to lodge my papers I declined, no problem, they even refused to take the €11.00 due for the rest of my stay, when I did leave on Saturday midnight.
The locals are amazed as anyone else at the €250 million spent on the new port facilities. Mainly EC Regional Fund.
Greece is amazingly chaotic, warmly friendly and refreshingly different to the UK.
