On the occasion of the Greek government’s intention, as stated by the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis, to pay another 8 billion euros in December to repay the debt, the large German newspaper Handelsblatt in its article (26/10) refers to the important progress the country has made in recent years in reducing public debt.

According to an informal briefing from the ministry, the newspaper highlights that former bankruptcy candidate Greece has made significant progress in debt relief in recent years.

In just 3 years, from 2020 to 2023, Greece reduced its debt ratio by 45.1 percentage points and according to Eurostat data, public debt as a percentage of GDP fell from 209% in 2020 to 163, 9% at the end of 2023.

In December, the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis plans to pay 8 billion euros to the country’s creditors for loans that Greece received at the start of the debt crisis in May 2010. Normally, these repayments should be made in the period 2026-2028. With the early repayment, the finance minister wants to further reduce the country’s public debt, Handelsblatt reports.

At the same time, the publication points out that the International Monetary Fund, in last week’s edition of the Fiscal Monitor, predicts a downward trend for Greece’s public debt by 29.5 percentage points to 139.4% by 2029.

Analysts at credit rating agency Scope are even more optimistic. They predict that the percentage will decrease to 132.8% by 2029. Based on the forecast of Scope, Greece will hand over to Italy in 2028 the “red light” of the country with the highest percentage of public debt in the European Union.