The Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, Nikitas Kaklamanis, welcomed the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, who presented him with the Bank of Greece’s Monetary Policy Report for 2025–2026.
In their first meeting since Yannis Stournaras was reelected as Governor of the Bank of Greece, the Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, after congratulating him, wished him continued success in his productive work, which he described as crucial.
“I hope everything goes well for you and your colleagues. The Bank of Greece is the pillar of our country’s economic policy, regardless of which government is in power…,” Mr. Kaklamanis emphasized.
For his part, Mr. Stournaras thanked the Speaker of the Parliament and expressed his pleasure at being able to submit the Report to him once again.
The governor informed Nikitas Kaklamanis that, in an international environment marked by heightened global uncertainty, rising energy prices, high tariffs, geopolitical turmoil, and disruptions in international value and supply chains, inflation is on the rise, driven by high energy prices and spreading to other goods and services.
He emphasized, however, that the recent U.S.-Iran agreement offers some hope and is expected to help ease inflation, noting, however, that the effect will not be immediate.
More specifically, he said that inflationary pressures and a marginal slowdown in economic growth are being observed in the eurozone; however, specifically regarding Greece, he noted that the country is expected to grow by 1.9% in 2026, compared to a 0.8% growth rate for the eurozone. He emphasized, however, that inflation in Greece is expected to rise to 3.8% this year, compared to 3% in the Eurozone.
“Greece is distinguished by a strong fiscal position, a sharp downward trend in the public debt-to-GDP ratio, an increase in bank financing to businesses, and a strong position of the banks,” the governor said.
“Undoubtedly,” as Mr. Stournaras said, “significant progress has been made in recent years. After 16 years, the European Commission has stopped classifying the Greek economy as one with macroeconomic problems. However, our country continues to face a number of significant challenges, such as low productivity, a high current account deficit, high inflation, and housing and demographic problems.
Successfully addressing these significant challenges will largely determine Greece’s ability to continue the real convergence—which has begun in recent years with the European Union—in terms of both productivity and income.”
In his conclusion, he summarized the key messages contained in the Report, which should serve as a guide for the future. Namely:
Continued responsibility in the conduct of fiscal policy.
Sustained financial stability.
Continuation of reforms, emphasizing the need to remove all barriers to business entry into critical sectors of the economy.
“This will increase competition and the production of marketable goods and services, and will help combat inflation as well as the large current account deficit,” the governor concluded.