Corporate Governance

The term "Corporate Governance" refers to the system by which companies are directed and controlled. It is articulated as a system of relations between the company's Top Management, its Board of Directors, its shareholders and other interested parties, as defined in OECD corporate Governance Principles.

It is the structure by which company goals are approached and set and the means of achieving those goals are determined, while enabling the monitoring of Top Management's effectiveness in implementing the above. It institutes best practice governance standards and promotes increased transparency in all company activities.

It outlines the policies and procedures the Company has adopted as tools for achieving good governance practices.  Being based on the Greek regulatory framework – whose requirements shall prevail in all cases – the principles and practices of the Code aim at providing guidelines on issues that are not regulated by law or are regulated towards the minimum possible response.

The Corporate Governance framework has been developed mainly by adopting mandatory rules, such as Law 3016/2002, that requires the participation of non-executive and independent non-executive members on the Board of Directors of Greek listed companies, the establishment and operation of an internal Control Department and the adoption of an Internal Operations Regulation. Additionally, a mass of other legislative acts have incorporated European corporate law directives into the Hellenic legislative framework creating new rules for corporate governance, such as Law 3693/2008, that requires the establishment of audit committees and significant notification obligations with respect to a company's ownership status and governance, and Law 3884/2010 that concerns all shareholders rights and the added corporate notification obligations to shareholders in the framework of preparing for their General Meeting.