A primary surplus of €3,638 million, compared to a target of a primary surplus of €1,243 million and a primary surplus of €5,343 million for the same period in 2025, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance
Excluding: an amount of €31 million related to the deferral of payments for defense procurement programs, an amount of €473 million related to the deferral of investment payments, and an amount of €64 million relating to the deferral of transfer payments to General Government entities, which do not affect the General Government’s fiscal result, as well as an amount of €135 million from the second installment of the fee for the concession of a casino operating license at Elliniko, which is recorded in the budget over the duration of the concession, an amount of €884 million from early revenues of the TAA and an amount of €574 million relating to early cash revenues of the Public Investment Program, the excess in the primary result on a modified cash basis relative to budget targets amounts to €234 million.
It should be noted that the primary balance on a fiscal basis differs from the balance on a cash basis. Furthermore, the above figures pertain to the primary balance of the Central Administration and not to the General Government as a whole, which also includes the fiscal results of Legal Entities and the sub-sectors of Local Government and Local Public Enterprises.
Note: The January 2026 revenue figures include amounts from the transactions required to finalize the Service Concession Agreement for the financing, operation, maintenance, and operation of the Egnatia Odos highway and its three (3) vertical road axes for 35 years, which was ratified by Law 5260/2025 (A’ 229).
Specifically:
- an amount of €306 million, representing 24% VAT on the transaction price, was paid by the concessionaire to the Greek State, recorded under the “Taxes” category, and accompanied by a tax refund of the same amount.
- Subsequently, the same amount of €306 million was remitted again to the Greek State and recorded under the category “Sales of goods and services.”
During the period January–May 2026, net revenue for the state budget amounted to €30,203 million, representing an increase of €2,516 million compared to the target set for the corresponding period in the explanatory report of the 2026 Budget.
This overperformance is mainly due to the collection, in April, of the seventh installment from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), amounting to €884 million, which had been projected to be received in June 2026, as well as to increased Public Investment Program (PIP) revenues of €574 million.
Tax revenues amounted to €28,117 million and include: (a) the amount of €306 million from the Egnatia Motorway Concession Agreement, as mentioned above, and (b) the amount of €135 million from the second installment of the fee for the concession of a casino operating license at Elliniko, which was scheduled to be collected at the end of 2025. Excluding the above amounts, tax revenues amounted to €27,676 million, an increase of €258 million, or 0.9%, compared to the target.
Revenue refunds amounted to €3,435 million, an increase of €231 million from the target (€3,204 million) included in the explanatory report of the 2026 Budget, due to a VAT refund of €306 million from the Egnatia Motorway Concession Agreement, as mentioned above.
Revenues from the Public Investment Program (PIP) amounted to €2,519 million, an increase of €574 million compared to the target (€1,945 million) included in the explanatory report of the 2026 Budget.
The exact breakdown among the revenue categories of the state budget will be provided upon the issuance of the final budget bulletin.
Specifically, in May 2026, total net revenue of the state budget amounted to €5,028 million, an increase of €406 million compared to the monthly target.
Tax revenue amounted to €5,454 million, an increase of €375 million, or 7.4%, compared to the target.
Revenue refunds amounted to €834 million, an increase of €25 million over the target (€809 million).
Revenues from the Public Investment Budget (PIB) amounted to €208 million, an increase of €113 million compared to the target (€95 million).
Expenditures
State Budget expenditures for the period January–May 2026 amounted to €30,112 million, an increase of €249 million compared to the target (€29,863 million), as included in the explanatory report of the 2026 Budget. They are also €3,018 million higher than in the corresponding period of 2025.
In the Regular Budget section, payments are shown to have increased by €722 million compared to the target.
Notable transfers include the following:
- The grant to the National Organization for the Provision of Health Services in the amount of 825 million euros,
- The grant to the Social Security Welfare Benefits Agency amounting to €1,159 million,
- A grant of €915 million to the National Central Health Procurement Authority (EKAPY) for the procurement of pharmaceuticals, health products, and services on behalf of public hospitals,
- Transfers to hospitals and Primary Health Care totaling €520 million,
- Grants to public transportation agencies (OASA, OASTH, and OSE) totaling €169 million,
- The subsidy to the Information Society amounting to €131 million for the payment of the FUEL PASS.
Payments under the investment expenditure category amounted to 4,185 million euros, a decrease of 473 million euros compared to the target included in the explanatory report of the 2026 Budget. However, they are 456 million euros higher than the corresponding payments in 2025.
It should be noted that in May, expenditures were incurred for the Greek State’s participation in the share capital increases of PPC S.A. and DES ADMIE S.A., amounting to €1,289 million and €259 million, respectively, which, as financial transactions, are fiscally neutral.