Greece–Romania relations

Greco–Romanian relations

Greece	Romania

Greek–Romania relations are the bilateral relations between Greece and Romania. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, European Union, NATO and United Nations.

Country comparison

	Romania	Greece
Population	19,051,562	10,482,487
Area	238,398 km2 (50,949 sq mi)	131,957 km2 (50,949 sq mi)
Population Density	97/km2 (250/sq mi)	97/km2 (250/sq mi)
Capital	Bucharest	Athens
Largest City	Bucharest – 1,739,297	Athens – 3,059,764
Government	Unitary semi-presidential republic	Unitary parliamentary republic
Current leader	President Klaus Iohannis Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu	President Katerina Sakellaropoulou Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Official languages	Romanian	Greek
Main religions	73.86% Romanian Orthodoxy, 5.97% Protestantism, 4.5% Catholicism, 0.3% Islam	90% Greek Orthodox (official), 3% other Christian, 4% no religion, 2% Islam, 1% other
Ethnic groups	89.3% Romanians, 6.0% Hungarians	99% Greeks, 1% Others
GDP (nominal)	US$ 817.986 billion (43,179 per capita)	US$239.300 billion ($22,595 per capita)

Early period

The Greek presence in what is now Romania dates back as far as the apoikiai (colonies) and emporia (trade stations) founded in and around Dobruja (see Colonies in antiquity and Pontic Greeks), beginning in the 7th century BC. Starting with the Milesian colony at Istros, the process reached its height after Tomis was founded in the 5th century BC. Although forever subject to the Dacian interference and easily disrupted by changes in the politics of neighbour tribal chieftains, the colonies prospered until being briefly submitted in various forms by King Burebista (late 1st century BC). Immediately after, and for the following centuries, they were stripped of their privileges by their new Roman masters, and followed the Empire into its crises.

Greco–Romanian relations can be traced back hundreds of years when the two peoples formed a bastion of the Greco-Roman world in the Balkans. They were to continue into the 14th century when the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia became a refuge for Greeks fleeing from the rapidly declining Byzantine Empire. During the period of Ottoman domination, Greek Phanariotes played an important role in the political and cultural life of modern-day Romania. Their influence was one of the reasons that revolutionaries launched the Greek War of Independence in the Danubian Principalities instead of Greece itself. Negotiations between the United Principalities and the now independent Greek state during the period of 1866–1869 proved fruitless, thanks both to Romanian hopes of achieving independence through dialog and the birth of Romanian national historiography that sharply criticized the Phanariotes. Events surrounding the Great Eastern Crisis such as the foundation of the Bulgarian Exarchate and the threat of Pan-Slavism reversed the situation. The Treaty of Berlin (1878) marked not only the creation of an independent Romania but also the restoration of amiable diplomatic relations between the two states. Having abandoned all claims to Transylvania and Bukovina, Romania turned its attention to the Bulgarian-held Southern Dobruja. Since the area's Romanian population was sparse, Romania sought to instill nationalist ideals to the Aromanians populating the Ottoman-controlled Macedonia. The Aromanians were then to settle in South Dobruja, thus reinforcing Romanian claims to the region.

Organizations such as the Macedo-Romanian Cultural Society funded ethnographic expeditions to Macedonia, Epirus and Thessaly, funding being allocated to the creation of Romanian speaking schools and churches. This coincided with the wider Macedonian Struggle conflict, where similar organizations of Greek, Bulgarian and Serbian origin not only propagated their culture, but also engaged in armed struggle against each other and the Ottoman authorities. Romanian influence in Macedonia remained limited as its schools lacked the needed funding. Moreover, Aromanians struggled to adapt to the Romanian language as taught in the schools. In 1896 Ottoman authorities refused to appoint a Romanian metropolitan bishop to the Aromanian communities. Romanian authorities bribed Ottoman officials with 100,000 golden francs, however when the Ottoman sultan demanded a formal alliance, the Romanians broke the negotiations. Another important issue was the status of the inheritances of Greeks in Romania. In 1892, Romania refused to hand over the property of the recently deceased Greek expatriate Konstantinos Zappas, to the Greek state, citing an article of the Romanian constitution forbidding foreign nationals from owning agricultural land. The Trikoupis government then recalled its ambassador in Bucharest. Romania followed suit, thus severing diplomatic relations between the two countries. Diplomatic relations were restored in July 1896, in response to a rise of Bulgarian komitadji activity in Macedonia. The assassination of Romanian professor Ștefan Mihăileanu by a komitadji agent on 22 July 1900, caused panic in Bucharest amidst fears of an impending war with Bulgaria. On 24 April 1904, a group of pro–Romanian Aromanians submitted a petition to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople demanding greater autonomy including the administration of church service in the Aromanian language instead of Greek. The Patriarchate viewed the incident as a Romanian provocation, citing the fact that the translations of religious texts were not officially approved. As a result, it declined the petition. In 1905, the two countries exchanged accusations regarding the Aromanian Question. Romania claimed that Greek armed bands targeted ethnic Romanians in Macedonia, whereas Greece accused Romania of trying to create a false equation between Aromanians and Romanians.

Hellenophobic articles began appearing in the Romanian press. On 2 August 1905, the Society of Macedono–Romanian Culture organized an anti–Greek protest in Bucharest, attended by army officers, students, and Aromanians (or "Vlachs"). After decrying Greek war crimes in Macedonia, the organizers called for a boycott of Greek products and services. Rioting was prevented by a large force of Romanian gendarmerie. On the same day, a Greek owned cafe in Bucharest was vandalized and its owner beaten. Several days later, three editors of the Greek language newspaper Patris were expelled from the country for sedition. On 13 August, protesters burnt a Greek flag in Giurgiu. An official remonstrance by the Greek ambassador Tombazis was rebutted leading to a mutual withdrawal of embassies on 15 September. In November, the Romanian government allocated funding for the creation of armed Aromanian bands in Macedonia, a parallel motion closed numerous Greek schools in the country. In February 1906, six leading members of the Greek community were expelled from the country, citing their alleged funding of Greek bands in Macedonia. In July 1906, the Greek government officially cut diplomatic relations with Romania.

In 1911, Greek prime minister Eleftherios Venizelos used the occasion of the Italo-Turkish War to improve relations with Bulgaria and Romania, restoring diplomatic relations with the latter. The Balkan League which included Bulgaria and Greece defeated the Ottomans in the First Balkan War. The League broke at the conclusion of the war, with the former participants and Romania soundly defeating Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War. At the Treaty of Bucharest (1913), Romania supported Greek claims to Kavala, whereas Venizelos granted concessions to the Aromanians. The Aromanian Question which had already lost steam due to Romanian gains in north Bulgaria came to a conclusion. The Greco–Romanian alliance was further solidified during World War I when both countries sided with the Triple Entente.

Interwar period

In the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), Greece found itself to be in the midst of an internal political crisis. The situation exacerbated by the emergence of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the north, Italy's imperial ambitions in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and Turkey's resurgence as a regional power. The 1923 Corfu incident showcased the inability of the League of Nations to protect the interests of smaller countries such as Greece from the encroachments of Italy. In 1924, Yugoslavia unilaterally cancelled the Greek–Serbian Alliance of 1913. In the meantime irrevocable differences with Bulgaria prevented the two countries from normalizing relations. Romanian diplomats Ion I. C. Brătianu and Nicolae Titulescu perceived the fact that Romania was surrounded by Slavic countries as a threat to its security. Thessaloniki's appeal as a potential artery for Romanian exports further increased the possibility of a Greco–Romanian alliance. In 1927, Alexandru Averescu and Andreas Michalakopoulos engaged in discussions regarding the conclusion of a non-aggression pact. Michalaokopoulos agreed to the establishment of a railway line between the two countries, given that it would not be utilized for military purposes. That meant that Romania was to engage in a military confrontation against Bulgaria, shall the latter use the railway to deploy its military against Greece. Negotiations were temporary halted as Romanian diplomats pondered on how to preserve a balance between their involvement with the French led Little Entente and Italy which supported Romanian claims in Bessarabia. In January 1928, Titulescu secured Benito Mussolini's approval for a Greco–Romanian treaty.

Negotiations with Greece resumed in March 1928, during a regular League of Nations conference in Geneva. The Greek–Romanian Non-Aggression and Arbitration Pact was signed by Michalaokopoulos and Titulescu on 21 March. The two sides agreed to abstain from engaging each other in military confrontations, instead resolving their differences through diplomatic channels. According to the rules previously laid out by the League of Nations. In 1931, Venizelos visited Bucharest to conclude the Greek–Romanian Trade and Shipping Agreement with his counterpart Nicolae Iorga.

Modern day

Since the fall of the Soviet Union and the return of democracy in Romania, many Romanians have emigrated to Greece for economic reasons. Both countries are full members of the European Union, the Council of Europe, NATO and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).

Greece has warmly supported and contributed to Romania's entry into NATO and prompt accession into the European Union. Greece was the fifth member state of the EU and first among the old members to ratify the Treaty of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU. Greece is among the three top investors in Romania, with almost 800 active businesses and invested capital totalling 3 billion euros. According to the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad, the Greek community in Romania numbers 14,000.

Greeks in Romania

The Greek presence in what is now Romania dates back as far as the apoikiai (colonies) and emporia (trade stations) founded in and around Dobruja (see Colonies in antiquity and Pontic Greeks), beginning in the 7th century BC. Starting with the Milesian colony at Istros, the process reached its height after Tomis was founded in the 5th century BC.

After the fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottoman Empire, the Hospodars of Moldavia and Wallachia (the Danubian Principalities) often took on the patronage of many Greek-proper cultural institutions such as several monasteries on Mount Athos, gestures guaranteed to provide prestige within Eastern Orthodox culture. To this was added the exodus of Byzantine officials and commoners to the two countries, which were at the time under a rather relaxed Ottoman tutelage. They took opportunities to advance in office, and from early on included themselves in the inner circle of power. This meant not only the reliance of Princes on a new elite (more often than not, also one to provide it with the funds needed by the administrative effort), but also the gradual ascendancy of Greeks to the thrones themselves.

The rapid change brought them much hostility from traditional boyars. Landowners in a rudimentary economy, accustomed to have an important say in political developments, these found themselves stripped of importance in the new structure, and became bitterly hostile to the immigrants. However, this was not the only notable trend: there were numerous cases of intermarriage at the top of the social scale (and not only), the arguably most famous of which being the ones inside the very powerful Cantacuzino family.

Main article: Phanariotes

Fighting between the Philikí Etaireía and Ottomans in Bucharest, late 1821.

With the early 18th century emergence of Phanariote rule over the Danubian Principalities, Greek culture became a norm. On one hand, this meant a noted neglect for the institutions inside the countries; on the other, the channeling of Princes' energies into emancipation from Ottoman rule, through projects that aimed for the erasing of inner borders of the Empire, moving toward the creation of an all-Balkan, neo-Byzantine state (seen as the extended identity of Greekdom). To these was added the omnipresence and omnipotence of Greek ethnic clerics at all levels of the religious hierarchy, with many monasteries becoming directly submitted to similar institutions in Greece, after being gradually granted by successive Princes.

Thus, the emergence of Greek nationalism opened the two lands to revolution, as the main concentrations of political power available to it at the time, and the ones sharing a border with the expected supporter of the cause - Imperial Russia. The Wallachian stage of the Greek War of Independence consumed itself in a conflict between the initially supportive Anti-Ottoman Revolt led by Tudor Vladimirescu and the Philikí Etaireía, while Moldavia was under Greek occupation for a limited duration. The outcome only served to stir up animosity, and the Ottomans were receptive to the demands, putting an end to the Phanariote system in 1822.

A Greek pie-maker and his Jewish client in Bucharest, ca. 1880

With new trends of migration, Romania became a less important target for exiled Greeks, and this became limited to people of lower social status—with ethnic Greeks being most visible as entrepreneurs, middlemen traders, and especially sailors (both on the Danube the Black Sea—in the case of the latter, after the integration of Dobruja in 1878, which also gave Romania a new population of Greeks, already on the spot).

Eastern Orthodox Church Metamorphosis in Constanța, with service occasionally held in Greek

According to the Romanian census of 2002, the Greek community numbered 6,472 persons, most of whom live in Bucharest and its surrounding area. Next in line come the Dobruja counties of Tulcea and Constanța, and the Danube-facing ones of Brăila and Galați. The 1992 census however found 19,594 Greeks; this shows the tendency of assimilation. According to the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad (a dependency of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs) the Greek community in Romania numbers 14,000.

Aromanians in Greece

In the country, they are commonly known as "Vlachs" (Βλάχοι, Vláchoi) and referred to as "Vlachophone Greeks" or "Vlach-speaking Greeks", because most Aromanians in Greece have a Greek identity and identify themselves with the Greek nation and culture.

Byzantine historian George Kedrenos identified Aromanians living in what is now Greece in the 11th century. Under the Ottoman Empire, the Aromanians were considered part of the Rum Millet. In 1902, Romanian politician Alexandru Lahovary advocated for the recognition of the Aromanians as a distinct millet, which was granted in 1905. The group became more distinct towards the end of the 19th century, with a split occurring between Vlachs who identified more closely with Romania and those who were linked more to Greece.

In the Ottoman Empire, the Vlachs fell under the religious jurisdiction of the Greek Patriarch by virtue of them being Orthodox Christian; services were conducted in Greek. Conducting services in the Aromanian language became a priority issue for the Vlachs. The Orthodox Patriarch decided that if the Vlachs were to conduct services in their own language, they would be denied their own clerical head. In 1875, the Patriarch ordered the closure of 8 Vlach churches, leading to an escalation in hostilities. The Ottoman Ministry of Justice and Religious Denomination determined in 1891 that the Vlach had a right to worship in their own language; in 1892, the Ministry of Justice warned the Greek Patriarch that if Vlach-language services were not instituted, the Vlachs would likely established their own church. The Vlach were eventually successful in appointing their own bishop.

Tourism

Greece has generally been one of the most popular tourist destinations for Romanians. In 2022, 1,378,758 Romanians visited Greece, making it the most popular tourist destination among Romanians. 93,196 Greeks in turn visited Romania in 2022.

Resident diplomatic missions

Embassy of Greece in Bucharest

• Greece has an embassy in Bucharest.
• Romania has an embassy in Athens and a consulate-general in Thessaloniki.

See also

• Foreign relations of Greece
• Foreign relations of Romania
• Aromanian Question
• Greeks in Romania
• Phanariotes
• Greek War of Independence
• Hellenic Union of Romania
• Aromanians in Greece

Further reading

• Paschalis Pechlivanis (2020) "An Uneasy Triangle: Nicolae Ceaușescu, the Greek Colonels and the Greek Communists (1967-1974)." The International History Review

References

• Christopoulos, Georgios; Bastias, Ioannis (1977). Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Εθνους: Νεώτερος Ελληνισμός απο το 1881 ως 1913 [History of the Greek Nation: Modern Greece from 1881 until 1913] (in Greek). Vol. XIV. Athens: Ekdotiki Athinon. ISBN 978-960-213-110-7.
• Sfetas, Spyridon (2001). "Το ιστορικό πλαίσιο των ελληνο-ρουμανικών πολιτικών σχέσεων (1866-1913)" [The Historical Context of Greco-Romanian political relations (1866–1913)]. Makedonika (in Greek). 33 (1). Society for Macedonian Studies: 23–48. doi:10.12681/makedonika.278. ISSN 0076-289X. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
• Svolopoulos, Konstantinos (1974). "Το Ελληνορουμανικόν σύμφωνον της 21ης Μαρτίου 1928" [The Greco-Romanian Treaty of 21 March 1928]. Makedonika (in Greek). 14 (1). Society for Macedonian Studies: 151–162. doi:10.12681/makedonika.580. ISSN 0076-289X. Retrieved 8 May 2017.

External links

• Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Romania
• Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Greece