The Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis and the Deputy Minister Thanos Petralias, following the submission today to Parliament of the Draft State Budget for 2027, made the following statements:
K. Pierrakakis:
Ladies and gentlemen,
today we submitted the Draft Budget for 2027 at a time when certainties are being tested internationally. Bond markets are recording intense pressures, major European economies are facing increasing fiscal challenges, and instability in energy markets persists.
Within this environment, Greece has achieved stability and credibility. It has built resilience that allows it to face international turbulence from a stronger position. And we are determined to protect this achievement.
For the seventh consecutive year, our economy is projected to grow at a rate significantly higher than the Eurozone average. In 2027 growth accelerates to 2.3%, compared with 1.2% in the Eurozone. Investments increase by 7.9% and unemployment declines to 7.9%, to the lowest level since 2008.
Compensation per employee is further strengthened, with its growth rate reaching 3.9% in 2027 from 3.7% in 2026. Inflation remains one of the most unpredictable variables, as it is directly affected by international energy prices. In any case, however, in 2027 it is expected to ease.
For the government, the economic staff, growth has meaning only when it reaches the citizen’s everyday life. Our goal is for incomes to rise and the pressure from the cost of living to recede. For the progress of the economy to become progress for every family.
We are reducing taxes for self-employed professionals, farmers and families with three children, and we are further reducing social security contributions for salaried employees. We are increasing the annual support for pensioners to 400 euros. From December 2027 we are paying a Christmas bonus of 500 euros to public officials. We are proceeding with new increases in the minimum wage, with a target of 1,000 euros in 2028. We are creating “My Home III”, with resources of 2 billion euros, and the new investment account for the new generation.
At the same time, we are investing in the country’s productive base. We are increasing by more than 1 billion euros the resources of the Public Investment Budget, we are giving new incentives to private investments, and we are creating a financing program of 1.5 billion euros for small and medium-sized enterprises. We want more investments, greater productivity, and better-paid jobs, because that is where the country’s ability to steadily increase incomes is determined.
And all this without putting at risk what we achieved with great effort.
For 2027, a primary surplus of 3.3% and an overall surplus of 0.3% are projected, while public debt declines to 128.8% of GDP, continuing the fastest debt reduction in Europe, if not in the world.
It is our deep conviction that fiscal credibility is the necessary prerequisite for us to be able to support society steadily and over time. And this is the choice we will serve consistently.
The 2027 Budget describes the Greece we want to build. A country that grows, invests, increases incomes, rapidly reduces its debt, removes burdens from citizens, and has the strength to support them when they need it.
In a world that is becoming more unpredictable, Greece is becoming stronger.
Th. Petralias:
The Draft State Budget 2027, which has just been submitted to the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs of Parliament and will be discussed in the coming days, with the aim of submitting the final plan on November 20, demonstrates the stability of the Greek economy amid global geopolitical turbulence.
It is true that we are going through a period of increased uncertainty, which includes extremely high fluctuations in international energy markets, obstacles in global trade, but also recently high fiscal risk for major European economies as reflected in bond markets.
Within this framework, the Greek economy, supported also by the measures announced at the TIF and to be legislated in the immediately following period, is expected to grow by 2% this year and 2.3% next year.
It is noted that the TIF measures, in combination with the increase in the Public Investment Program based on the escape clause for energy, as well as the co-financed component, are estimated to have a positive effect on GDP by about 0.2% this year and an additional 0.3% in 2027. In addition, the Draft includes an additional amount of 200 million euros in the General State expenditures under allocation, in order to address possible needs for subsidizing energy costs in the first months of the year.
The overall fiscal result in 2026 is estimated at 0.6% of GDP and the primary result at 3.6% of GDP in 2026, while for 2027, on the basis of the new interventions announced at the TIF, the primary result is expected to rise to 3.3% and the overall result of the General Government to be shaped at 0.3%.
The above are taking place exactly within the fiscal margins set by the European rules, as, as presented in the draft, the deviation of the primary expenditure indicator on a cumulative basis compared with the targets is zero.
In closing, perhaps the most important element of the draft is the apparent further de-escalation of the general government debt-to-GDP ratio, as this is expected to decrease from 146.1% in 2025, to 136.7% in 2026 and 128.8% in 2027.