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Figures about the commercial activity in Greece are very discouraging. Comparing 2010 and 2011 the National Confederation of Greek Trade found that the number of small and medium enterprises has decreased by 68,000, 135,000 job positions have been closed and it has been estimated that this year another 63 000 companies are having difficulties and are ready to close down at any time. Moreover, 77,800 jobs in the field of commerce alone were lost in 2011, while lay-offs increased by 55%.

Comparing the negative trends for small and medium enterprises in Greece with those in the European Union, the President of the National Confederation of Greek Trade Vassilis Korkidis asks himself "ultimately to what degree the famous incomplete reforms from the last two years along with the measures against the recession have worsened, instead of improving, the business climate in Greece". He believes that Greek business needs a better financial and credit policy of the banks, and faster access to European funding.

In particular, analyzing the comparative data on the activities of small and medium enterprises in Greece with those in the eurozone, the National Confederation of Greek Trade and the Institute of Trade and Services, has established the following:

-Employment in Greek SMEs represents over 85% of the workforce in the country, i.e. much more than the average for the European Union.

-The participation of SMEs in creating added value amounts to 35.3% compared with 21.8% in other European Union countries.

-The nominal hourly rate in Greece according to data from Eurostat, has declined overall by 7.5 percentage points.

-Large companies create only 14% of the job positions in Greece, while in the EU the average of this indicator is 33%.

-Greek SMEs employ an average of 2.9 people, a figure much lower than the average for the European Union where it is 4.2 persons per enterprise.

- Greek small and medium-sized enterprises, active in the field of commerce are more as a percentage than the EU average (42% vs. 31%).

Heavy taxes

Also, it is noted that data on the taxation of small and medium enterprises in Greece showed that total direct and indirect regular annual taxes along with the extraordinary taxes in Greece create a tax burden amounting to between 48% to 53% while in the European Union taxes do not exceed 33%. Greece is the only country in which 32 special, extraordinary taxes and taxes introduced retrospectively are being collected.

While the pace of opening small and medium enterprises in Greece is almost identical to the average of the European Union (14% in Greece and 12% in the European Union), the percentage of businessmen using the appropriate conditions for opening a business is much lower in Greece than in other European Union countries (39% compared to 55%). These data indicate that a large percentage of Greek businessmen have set up their business because of need and lack of alternative perspectives.

Also advertising the business by mass media in Greece is considerably less (34.5%) compared with other European Union countries (51.35%).

Bureaucracy

Inadequate close to no progress in simplifying the rules and red tape procedures are placing Greece at a disadvantage compared with other European Union countries. As to corruption, it exists in all European countries without this being an excuse for Greece. In particular, with regard to procedures, the following has been stressed:

-The number of days required for a Greek company to start operating are 19 against 14 in the European Union.

-The required minimum capital that must be paid in Greece is 22.3% against 18.76% in the European Union.

To permanently stop its activities, an enterprise in Greece needs two years, having in mind that this period is the same for the European Union, with the proviso that in Europe businesses follow a specific procedure of bankruptcy, while in Greece they just close down and continue to owe contributions, fines, increases, etc.

Relationship with the state

The comparisons relating to the relations of the companies with the state are very characteristic.

The average time in Greece for payment to enterprises by the state for public supply is 65 days against 25 in the European Union. The total amount of obligations of the state to business today is around 6 billion euro. With regards to the economic relations of SMEs with the state, it seems that their share in the total government contracts in Greece is 31% wile in the European Union it is 38%.

State aid for SMEs in Greece is slightly higher (7.6%) than in the European Union (6.9%).

The rate of unsuccessful applications for the granting of bank loans to SMEs in Greece amounts to 58% whereas in other European countries it is only 23%.

The average time for payment in transactions between companies in Greece is about 107 days while in other European Union countries it is 54 days.