Although the offer of securities to the public generally require the publication of a prospectus, there is an exemption from that requirement where securities are only offered to employees of the issuer or a group company. The existing security legislation will continue to apply until the Prospectus Directive is implemented in Greek law, which should have happened by 1 July 2005 but is expected to occur by early 2006.

To what extent do employees receive statutory employment protection in your jurisdiction? Are these provisions of mandatory law that apply to all employees, regardless of the choice of law in the employment contact and the identity, place of incorporation or location of the employing entity?

The standards which apply to employment relationships and the terms and conditions under which an employee serves are laid down within a framework of rules created by the Constitution, laws, collective agreements, internal regulations and custom.

Greece, embraced by the Mediterranean Sea, lies in the extreme southeast of Europe and has an area of 132.000 square kilometers (51.000 square miles), of which approximately 20% is made up of islands. The country borders with Albania, Bulgaria and Skopje (FYROM) to the north, Turkey to the east and is embraced by the Aegean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea (Libyan Sea) and the Ionian Sea.

Employee share schemes are not common in Greece. Some relevant legislation was introduced approximately 10 years ago but this deals primarily with employee participation in the profits of their employing company rather than with share-based incentive schemes.