In the European Parliament, Nikolas Farantouris brings up the systematic payment delays and the surge of overdue debts of the Greek State to private individuals.
In his written question today to the European Commission, the PASOK MEP and member of the Budget Committee of the European Parliament cites data and the warning letter from the Commission dated October 1, 2026 to the Greek Government for failing to comply with a 2025 EU Court decision, which found that it violated Directive 2011/7/EU due to excessive delays in payments from public entities to their suppliers.
Overdue 3.8 billion
According to the data presented by Nikolas Farantouris, the overdue debts of the State to private individuals exceeded 3.8 billion euros in August 2026, with public hospitals continuing to account for the largest share of these overdue debts, followed by Social Security Organizations, Local Government Organizations, and other public legal entities.
According to the PASOK MEP, these delays entail significant financial burdens for the contracting parties, most of whom are small and medium-sized enterprises, undermining their operation, growth, and liquidity, while creating chain effects on the economy. And this, at the same time, as Nikolas Farantouris points out, the Greek government is implementing an intensified program for the collection of debts to the State.
Based on these, the Greek MEP asks the Commission:
- a) What specific compliance measures does it require from the Greek government to address the systematic delays?
- b) How does it assess the measures taken so far by the Greek government and whether it considers that the periodically announced measures such as the digital platform "Synepeia" are sufficient for the immediate elimination of systemic payment delays.
- c) What protection measures does it intend to take for affected private individuals who are under suffocating pressure due to the debts of the Greek State.
In his statements this morning, Nikolas Farantouris highlights the "discrepancy and injustice of, on the one hand, implementing a strict and intensified program for the collection of debts to the State, and on the other hand, the State systematically increasing its overdue debts, causing suffocation to hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises throughout Greece".