“The best investment incentive is a state that operates efficiently.” That was one of the points made by Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Greece’s national economy and finance minister and president of the Eurogroup, in a speech yesterday at the Hellenic-British Chamber of Commerce’s annual “Back-to-Business Dinner 2026”. He also said: “We welcome the British government’s intention to seek closer relations with the European Union.”
The minister spoke at length about the stability of the banking system and the strength and international reach of the Greek economy. On tourism, he said: “The next phase of Greek tourism is not just about increasing visitor numbers. In economic terms, it is about attracting investment in infrastructure and modern hospitality services.”
He also said that Greece’s public universities were offering an increasing number of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in English, and that the country had all the prerequisites to become a highly dynamic international hub for regional education.
The minister also said that Greece could play a strategic role in the energy landscape of south-eastern Europe. The development of renewable energy sources, electricity interconnectors, storage systems and natural gas infrastructure was creating new opportunities.
The UK has significant expertise in these areas, and cooperation could prove mutually beneficial. The same is true of shipping. For both countries, the sea has been a favoured arena for economic expansion. It is well known that Greek shipowners and London’s shipping ecosystem have forged ties that have lasted for generations.
The minister’s full speech follows:
“Your Excellency, distinguished members of the Hellenic-British Chamber of Commerce, ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me to begin by warmly welcoming the new British ambassador to Greece, Stephen Lillie CMG, and wishing him every success in his mission. His distinguished diplomatic career, including his service in Cyprus, gives him valuable experience and a deep understanding of our region.
Greece and Britain share far more than a history of friendship. Our ties extend to defence, education, science, shipping, trade and culture. They reflect shared values and enduring strategic interests. But history alone does not build the future. That takes political will and decisive action.
Our ambition should be to turn this long-standing cooperation into a stronger strategic economic partnership for the decades to come.
In a world of geopolitical uncertainty and intensifying competition, no European country can succeed alone. Nor can any nation build its future on the advantages of its past. We must aspire to create new ones.
Ladies and gentlemen,
To a great extent, we create our own opportunities in life, whether as individuals or as states. About a decade ago, Greece was at the centre of Europe’s economic crisis. Today, it is widely held up as an example of one of the most successful comebacks in history. This did not happen by itself or by chance. It happened because Greece proved that fiscal responsibility can go hand in hand with economic growth and social progress.
These are achievements of which we are, and should be, proud. But in the next phase of our economic policy, it is not enough simply to recover what was lost in the crisis, even in a different form. We must build a different productive model. Britain can be an extremely important partner in this effort, because this is a relationship between two economies with significant complementarities.
The UK has one of the world’s leading international financial centres, top universities, advanced scientific research and extensive experience in financing innovation. Greece now has a stable banking system, a national economy that has regained investment-grade status and a very strong currency. It also has a strong strategic geographic position, the world’s largest shipping fleet, dynamic tourism, energy and services sectors, and a highly educated workforce.
Let me give a few examples that illustrate a deeper shift: METLEN, Energean, PeopleCert, the Viohalco Group and KRi-KRi are among the Greek companies with an expanded presence in the UK that are also seeking a role in international markets. This is one of the most important hallmarks of a mature, outward-looking economy.
The internationalisation of the Greek economy now has a deeper institutional footprint, too. The inclusion of the Athens Stock Exchange in Euronext has created the conditions for greater visibility for Greek businesses and wider access to investment capital. Major shipping companies have already been listing on Euronext Athens since last June, demonstrating the strong momentum this has generated.
For Greek-British economic relations, this development opens up another area for cooperation, since a more interconnected Greek capital market can clearly offer more opportunities to British investors.
At the same time, the British business presence in Greece remains strong. In 2025, the UK was Greece’s largest investor in terms of investment flows, with €5.3bn. British companies operate in areas including financial services, telecommunications, energy, tourism, healthcare and real estate.
In recent years, we have also seen significant interest from British investment funds in Greece’s private education sector, at primary and secondary level and now also in higher education. This is an area in which, I dare say, we were very late for many decades; we have now opened it up and corrected this historic anomaly in education.
Consider this major change, which I believe ultimately represents a paradigm shift: for decades, Greece “exported” thousands of students to the UK each year. Today, it is attracting major universities from there that are interested in establishing a presence in our country.
But why Greece in particular? Because, alongside its public universities, which are offering an increasing number of English-language undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, the country has all the prerequisites to become a highly dynamic international hub for regional education. In other words, there is great scope for cooperation between our universities. And this is not just another investment. It is a sector that concerns the most important factor in economic growth: human capital.
Of course, it would be remiss to discuss Greek-British economic relations without mentioning tourism. Tourism is one of the strongest human bridges between our two countries.
According to 2025 figures, tourism receipts from the UK rose by 18.41% to €3.7bn. Meanwhile, arrivals from the UK reached about 4.9 million. The UK thus ranks second among the markets sending tourists to Greece, narrowly behind Germany. However, the next phase of Greek tourism is not just about increasing visitor numbers. In economic terms, it is about attracting investment in infrastructure and modern hospitality services.
But let us be clear about one thing: attracting investment is not simply a matter of tax incentives. Above all, it is a matter of trust — trust in the economy and in institutions.
Investors are looking for an efficient public administration and a transparent tax system. That is why the reforms undertaken by Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ governments in recent years in public administration, digitalisation and tax compliance are fundamental to our economic policy. The best investment incentive, in the end, is a state that works well and efficiently.
The next major area for cooperation is technology. We have become accustomed to talking about the technological revolution as if it were just another wave of economic change. But artificial intelligence is not just a new technology. It is a technology that is already transforming everything, and will continue to do so dramatically.
In recent years, Greece has made a huge leap forward in the digital transformation of the state. I would go so far as to say that this is recognised internationally, and its impact can be seen everywhere: from how we handled vaccinations during the pandemic to how surpluses are generated in tax administration through the digitalisation of the economy and the adoption of simple technologies by small and medium-sized enterprises.
The gov.gr experience was very important for us. Incidentally, it was an example of cooperation with the UK: we took inspiration from gov.uk, which was created, if I am not mistaken, in 2011.
The entire gov.uk team trained our people at the then Ministry of Digital Governance in the early stages. I particularly remember Mike Bracken and Tom Loosemore, figures from the technology sector. Today, Mr Ambassador, if you ask them, they would say that we took this excellent example and went a step further, partly because of the challenges we faced in the Greek public administration. We now have about 2,500 services available digitally, and gov.gr is regarded as one of the most popular reforms in the country’s history.
It is very valuable to learn from something that works in practice, even though, if I may put it simply, politics does not allow for copy and paste. I used to say, in my previous role, that reforms are like transplants: the donor and recipient must be compatible. But gov.uk was an excellent fit for us, and that is precisely why we learned so much. The lesson we took away was not only technical but also deeply political. Much can be achieved when political will, technical expertise and a commitment to genuine administrative reform come together.
Against the backdrop of this major technological shift, which will unfold in many stages and waves, and at an ever-accelerating pace, the UK has strong universities and a dynamic artificial intelligence business ecosystem.
Cooperation between Greek and British businesses can make a decisive contribution to our efforts to manage and absorb this wave and this major change, harnessing the significant opportunities offered by new technologies to improve the productivity of our economy — our next major challenge.
Let me mention another example: “Daedalus”, Greece’s new national supercomputer. We began designing it when I was at the Ministry of Digital Governance, and it was recently inaugurated by the prime minister in Lavrio.
It is one of Europe’s most advanced computing infrastructures and lies at the heart of Greece’s artificial intelligence “factory” (AIFactoryPHAROS), designed to train complex AI models. Researchers, universities, start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises will have largely free access to “Daedalus”, supporting Greek and European innovation.
Our world is one of great challenges, but also great opportunities. Consider energy security, which has returned to the forefront of European policy. Geopolitical developments have reminded us that energy is a matter of national security, strategic autonomy and social cohesion.
Greece can play a strategic role in the energy landscape of south-eastern Europe. The development of renewable energy sources, electricity interconnectors, storage systems and natural gas infrastructure is creating new opportunities. The UK has significant expertise in these areas, and cooperation could prove mutually beneficial.
The same is true of shipping. For both countries, the sea has been a favoured arena for economic expansion. After all, it is well known that Greek shipowners and London’s shipping ecosystem have forged ties that have lasted for generations. Today, however, international shipping faces a major transition. Greece can draw on the scale and experience of its shipping industry. The UK can contribute insurance services and more. Together, we can create partnerships with an international reach.
Because, remember: Greece is not just a market of 10 million people. It is part of the European single market and is also at the geographical crossroads of three continents. Our geography is an advantage that we must turn into productive strength. We have been discussing this for many years; now we have begun to unlock our full potential, and we are on a journey. That journey will ultimately be a complete success.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Our shared past can lay the foundations, but only the decisions we make in the present can prepare a truly promising future. And good relations built over time must be renewed through shared interests and joint initiatives.
Greece has changed. The country can now seek a more important role in the European and international economic order. This is the message we want to send, especially to our British friends. Greece is not simply asking to be trusted for what it has achieved. It is inviting its partners to invest in the great potential it has proved it possesses for the future.
Politics, indeed, takes on real meaning when it looks to the future. And Europe’s economic prospects directly and indirectly affect our relationship with the UK. Allow me, therefore, to address you also in my capacity as president of the Eurogroup.
A eurozone that grows, invests and innovates, creating more opportunities for itself, ultimately creates more opportunities for its partners, too. Our responsibility within the European institutions is to combine stability with ambition.
We must ensure that a good business idea — something we are discussing intensively in European councils at the moment — can secure financing, build scale and grow in Europe, before going on to compete in international markets.
Our own assessment in Europe is that this is not happening on the scale it should. That is why we are talking about the Savings and Investments Union: it could channel the more than €10tn in savings held in Europe into investment, allowing us to unlock much greater growth potential. This is one example of the reforms we need to achieve at European level.
We live in complex times and in an international environment where multiple pressures are adding to the challenges. We are in an era of higher interest rates and increased borrowing costs. Compare 2016 with 2026: the average rate in the eurozone is now 4%, compared with 1.1% then.
This has happened for a number of reasons: the energy crisis, geopolitical instability, larger fiscal deficits, greater needs for defence and investment spending, an ageing population, which naturally also affects social budgets, and the artificial intelligence revolution. Governments are seeking capital for their bonds, while competing with large technology companies for the same funds and borrowing from the same markets. All of this is pushing interest rates higher. Together, these factors are shaping a new reality in international markets.
The major growth impetus from artificial intelligence in particular has broader financial implications. Artificial intelligence is not just a technological force; in a sense, it is also a macroeconomic force, and we need to take full account of this in all our economic planning.
For Europe, this is another reason to deepen our capital markets, in the way I described earlier, so that we can channel our savings into productive investment. More broadly, there is a parallel between Greece and Europe: many things have not been done for a long time, which gives us a “low-hanging fruit” dividend once political will aligns with economic and political reality.
And I believe that Europe, as reflected in the Draghi and Letta reports, is on the verge of this change. On the Capital Markets Union in particular, I would say one thing: progress over the past 10 months has been greater than progress over the past 10 years. I believe this allows us to be optimistic and hope that similar progress will be made in all the other areas — the Banking Union, the Energy Union, Europe’s technology policy and defence policy, as it intersects with the economy — in the period ahead.
In all of this, I would stress that closer cooperation with the UK, one of the world’s most important financial centres, can create new opportunities for investment, innovation and growth.
The question we face is a shared one: how do we turn available capital into productive power? How do we enable a business to grow, export and create quality jobs? And how do we provide the stability every investor needs to plan for the long term?
The Greek and British business communities can offer very practical answers to all these questions. And as president of the Eurogroup, I believe that a stronger European economy must foster cooperation with important partners such as the UK if it is to unlock its full potential. Success on one side creates opportunities for the other.
Dear friends,
The international environment today is marked by deep instability and uncertainty. Two ongoing conflicts, in Ukraine and the Middle East, are affecting security, energy markets, trade flows and the outlook for the global economy. Their consequences extend far beyond the regions where they are unfolding, affecting people and businesses around the world.
In these circumstances, closer cooperation between partners who share common values and interests is a strategic necessity, with a firm and unwavering commitment to international law.
The European Union and the UK have every reason to strengthen their cooperation. We welcome the British government’s intention to seek closer relations with the European Union. Deepening this relationship can strengthen security, resilience and prosperity across Europe. History, trade and culture connect us in countless ways. It would be counterproductive, to say the least, to think that a narrow strip of sea is enough to keep us apart.»