Currently Greece is facing a situation that can be fairly characterized as one of the most troubled socio-economic periods of its modern history.  During this sharp period, the allocation of funds is essential and must be obtained from every possible source. In this sense, the reactivation of several accumulated open offset contracts by the Greek Ministry of National Defense could be fairly characterized as a positive measure. “Fresh” funds of hundreds of millions of Euros could enter the Greek market through the completion of contracts from domestic, public and private defense industries.   

This development was embraced with delight from the Greek defense industry. It was perceived as the first step for resolving an entrenched problem that created severe malfunctions in the Greek A&D market as well as in the relationships of the Greek defense industries with their international counterparts.  
    
Currently, there are 122 open offset contracts that were signed between 1997 and 2010 but have not been executed due to various issues. Most are due to bureaucratic problems and lack of political will that certain Greek officials demonstrated. An indicative example of the malfunction created is that several offset contracts have been already executed but the funds cannot be allocated to the Greek subcontracting companies by the foreign prime contractors. The provisional supplies have been sent to the Greek subcontracting companies but Greek authorities refuse to declare them officially delivered.

Another important problem is that in many cases the General Directorate for Defence Investment and Armaments imposes fines and penalties which according to Greek and foreign defense manufactures are not fully justified. More than a few times their official representatives (such as SEKPY- Hellenic Manufacturers of Defence Materials Association) claimed that the General Directorate for Defence Investment and Armaments followed this practice in order to cover its own deficiencies and failures. Additionally, the US Director of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Defence requested bilateral discussions, on behaf of the US Government due to complaints by several US Defence Manufactures associations for lack of equal and fair treatment.

There is no doubt that offsets can be extremely beneficial for the Greek defence industry and the national economy. It can create a robust technological infrastructure and reduce the cost of defence procurements. Therefore, it is essential that a stable and long-term policy that will reflect the true needs of the Greek defence industry should be created and implemented with out any site agendas as has happened in the past.