GOVERNMENT: The changes announced to the cabinet turned out to be minor compared to what had been leaked in recent days.
The various scenarios and the list of names—which, however, did not originate from journalists—reportedly annoyed the prime minister, who, while on the other side of the Atlantic for a private visit over the weekend, decided on two things:
First, not to proceed with a broad cabinet reshuffle, keeping in their posts—among others—Pavlos Marinakis and Takis Theodorikakos (who was in the process of being moved), and second, to expedite the process that had been announced for this coming Thursday, so that the relevant discussion would not be “dragged out” for too long.
The message the Maximos Mansion sought to convey was one of political continuity, with the filling of vacant positions and the utilization of new faces from the blue Parliamentary Group.
Thus, the following appointments were announced: George Kotsiras (Deputy Minister of Transport), Dimitris Markopoulos (Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, responsible for Tax Policy), Marilena Soukouli (Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy), and Tasos Hatzivassiliou (Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs).
QUIZ: This particular New Democracy official, whom you often see on TV, was originally intended to run as a candidate in a small prefecture in mainland Greece, where he is from; however, the polls were not encouraging.
So, in consultation with the… higher-ups, it was decided to change the electoral district where he would try his political luck.
Not that it’s easy to get elected there either—quite the opposite. But, as those in the know say, it’s one thing to lose in your… hometown to some unknown (so to speak) and quite another to go down heroically in a district that was difficult from the start.
After all, at the end of the day, no one (of distinction) goes unnoticed…
KEFALOGIANNI: The reason why she decided to add her mother’s surname to her own was explained by Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni (now also Vardinoyanni).
“It is a political legacy that I had promised to a man who meant the world to me, my mother’s brother who passed away very recently, who was like a second father to me (Vardis Vardinoyannis), and he had told me, ‘You must take the surname as well.’ It is the fulfillment of a promise,” she stated (to iefimerida.gr).
She referred to “fulfilling the emotional obligation I had to my mother’s family and, if you will, to my mother herself, because my mother was there for me at every moment.”
She clarified, however, that “nothing will change,” as she steadfastly prepares for the A’ Athens constituency, where competition in the upcoming elections is expected to be fierce. In the 2023 elections, Olga was elected in third place, behind Kyriakos Pierrakakis and Vasilis Kikilias.
MINISTRY OF DEVELOPMENT: Another piece of the puzzle for the new Independent Market Control and Consumer Protection Authority has fallen into place. With the Joint Ministerial Decision setting the administration’s salaries, the authority is now moving into full operational mode, following the recent appointments of Despoina Tsangari, the deputy directors, and the Administrative Council.
As this column has learned, the administrator will receive 90% of the salary of the President of the Supreme Court, the deputy administrators and the Council president will receive the salary of a ministry secretary-general, while Council members will receive 1,200 euros gross per month.
The cost of the new authority’s top management is estimated at approximately 491,000 euros per year.
NSRF: With an eye on the new programming period and the revised NSRF data, the Ministry of National Economy is reorganizing the Special Management Service for the “Competitiveness” program.
The new structure includes two sub-directorates and an independent unit, with an emphasis on innovation, state aid, STEP technologies, digital initiatives, and skills upgrading.
At the same time, the agency continues to oversee the closure of the 2014-2020 EPANEK program, while simultaneously taking on an expanded role in the implementation of the new program.
RAE: No one wanted to take over the Universal Electricity Service for the next two years. The relevant RAE tender was unsuccessful, as not a single bid was submitted.
The baton now passes to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, which must designate the five largest suppliers in the market to serve consumers left without a provider.
DIAVGEIA: A new working group has been formed by the Ministry of National Economy to strengthen the operation of “Diavgeia” and the open data policy.
The group will support the ODE-DIAVGEIA by undertaking the recording, collection, and publication of datasets, as well as actions related to open governance.
Its members will perform their duties without additional compensation.
BANKS: It appears that the banks took action before the Bank of Greece did. As announced last week by the Bank of Greece, the average interest rate on new loans in April rose by 37 basis points on a monthly basis, reaching 4.76%.
The increase is mainly due to higher interest rates on new business loans, which rose by 45 basis points compared to the previous month, while interest rates on consumer and mortgage loans remained essentially unchanged (-1 basis point on a monthly basis).
The average interest rate on new deposits remained unchanged on a monthly basis at 0.31%, resulting in the interest margin on new business widening by 37 basis points compared to the previous month, reaching 4.45%.
REAL ESTATE: With a capital of €3.3 million and the Cypriot company Gioralex Holdings Limited as its sole shareholder, Cielo Athens Single-Member S.A. was established in Thessaloniki.
The new company operates in the real estate sector, with its primary focus on the leasing and management of owned or leased properties and the buying and selling of real estate as a secondary activity.
Management is handled by a three-member board of directors headed by Nikolaos Papapetrou, with Daphne Aggelou and Maria Aggelou as members.
LOGISTICS: Master Craft S.A. is strengthening its presence in the sector by launching a new storage and distribution center in Diavata, Thessaloniki.
This investment adds to the wave of development in modern supply chain infrastructure in Northern Greece, at a time when demand for storage space and logistics services remains particularly strong.
The choice of Diavata is no coincidence, as the wider region is attracting growing investment interest thanks to its strategic location and its connectivity to key road and port corridors.
DIVIDENDS: GEVKA and Karelia shares are trading as of today without the right to the 2025 fiscal year dividend.
In the case of the former, the dividend amounts to €0.10 per share, with shareholders receiving a net €0.095 per share.
Karelia’s share pays out €14.60 per share, with the net amount in shareholders’ pockets coming in at €13.87 per share.
ELLAKTOR: The stock closed today at €1.46, up 1.25%, but the news of the day came... after the bell.
After the market closed, it was announced that AtlasInvest, the family investment vehicle of Belgian businessman Marcel van Poecke, acquired an additional 17.5 million shares through an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction, raising its stake to 14.83% from 9.8%. The seller was Reggeborgh.
The transfer involved more than 5% of the share capital and took place off-market; however, the announcement did not include any mention of the price at which the shares changed hands.
ELLACTOR II: The truth is that this sharp increase in shareholding piqued our curiosity regarding its… motives. Because Marcel van Poecke is no ordinary person.
He is an entrepreneur, investor, and senior executive with over 25 years of experience in the energy sector, while AtlasInvest, the private equity firm he founded in 2007, invests across the entire energy spectrum.
He is also Chairman of Energy at the renowned U.S. investment group Carlyle, and previously served as head of Carlyle International Energy Partners (CIEP) from 2014 to 2022.
Furthermore, he is Chairman of ONE-Dyas, an AtlasInvest portfolio company with oil and natural gas assets in the North Sea and West Africa, which has extensive experience in managing a diversified upstream portfolio.
Finally, he is vice chairman of the Energy Intelligence Board, chairman of VARO Energy, vice chairman of Moeve (also in the energy sector), and a non-executive member of the Board of Directors of Discover Exploration.
His resume is too long to include in full here, but suffice it to say that we are talking about a maestro in the European energy sector—not only in traditional energy but also in its more modern “clean” forms.
PIRAEUS: Nine blocks totaling 23.2 million euros made the difference for the bank’s stock, which was… by far the top performer in terms of trading volume during yesterday’s session.
The stock gained 1.36%, climbing to €8.79 with total turnover at €60.3 million. Over the past three months, the return is approaching 25%. From its low on March 30 (€6.63), the return stands at 32.6%.
JUMBO: The announcement by Apostolos Vakakis’s company that five-month sales rose 4%, combined with the broader bearish market sentiment, triggered further sell-offs, as did management’s statement that “if current conditions persist beyond the first half of the year, it will reassess its guidance, most likely upon the publication of the first-half 2026 results.”
The stock closed at €22.50, down 2.17%, with trading volume at €4.7 million. The year-to-date low stands at €21.38, set on May 12, while total losses over the past six months have reached 19%.