For the hosting of the Presidency, an Independent Office was set up, under Law 4148/2013, at the Foreign Ministry’s Central Service, under the competent Deputy Foreign Minister and overseen by the Foreign Minister, with a special budget board and the Head of the Office serving as the competent manager.

The principal assumptions on which the planning and implementation of the Presidency activities were based were (a) savings on expenses, (b) utilization of existing public sector human resources, (c) exclusive use, as far as possible, of a single conference facility and a uniform programme, (d) a frugal programme of cultural events in and outside of Greece, and (e) an extensive sponsorship programme.

The financial management of the Office of the Hellenic Presidency, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was completed on 31 December 2014, with the settlement of all expenditures related to the Presidency.

The management of the budget of the 2014 Hellenic Presidency of the Council of the European Union – which was an undeniable success from both a substantial and organizational perspective – was

(a) fully transparent, in accordance with the regulations of public accounting,

(b) frugal, economical and effective, and

(c) planned and executed in such a way as to save on human resources, material means, energy and supplies.

The financial report for the years 2013 (preparation year) and 2014 can be accessed below.