The economy in Greece is doing surprisingly well, the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) emphasizes in its article.

“While the economies of other EU member states are in recession, Greece is facing a ‘luxury problem’: In the 2025 Budget, more than twice as much money is available as was originally foreseen”, it is characteristically underlined and it is noted that: “Accordingly, we must update upward and the spending plan. The budget was approved by Parliament on Sunday night. The conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the MPs that the important thing is that the economic success is more strongly felt by the citizens”.

The publication states that Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis initially expected a surplus of 6.1 billion. euros in its draft budget. “Now it reaches 13.5 billion. euro. According to Greek economic analysts, this is certainly due to the fact that Mr. Hatzidakis wisely managed the country’s economy. But there are other important reasons for this unexpected result.”

Microsoft, Google and Pfizer

Regarding the additional factors that have led to the country’s good results, the German FAZ reports:

“First, cracking down on tax evasion is paying off. The digitization of tax authorities has made it possible, among other things, to reduce the VAT gap, for example through undeclared work. The resulting losses have halved to €3.2 billion over the past five years. In addition, the Government continues privatizations. In 2024, revenues of 5.8 billion are expected. euros, with the state earning 3.3 billion euros only from the concession of the Attica Odos highway. And then in the economy, Greece is performing better than many other EU countries. While the EU growth average is 0.9%, the Commission forecasts 2.3% growth for Greece in 2025 from 2.1% this year. This is not only due to the boom in tourism. The government has also managed to regain market confidence. International rating agencies consider the country to be an investment destination again. Microsoft, Google and Pfizer have established themselves here in recent years, while German companies such as Fraport, RWE, Boehringer Ingelheim and Teamviewer are also active in Greece.

The minimum wage will increase to 950 euros

The publication emphasizes that despite the positive development, Mr. Mitsotakis calls on citizens to keep a low profile. “The reason is the continued austerity of Greeks, whose pensions and wages were cut during the country’s economic crisis from 2010 to 2018.
Recovery is gradually reaching citizens, although the government has repeatedly raised pensions and the minimum wage slightly. Pensions are set to rise by 2.4% next year, while the minimum wage of €830 a month will gradually rise to €950 by 2027. Both employees and employers will each have to pay 0.5 percentage points less social security contributions in the future. These and other measures aim to help citizens get back on their feet”, it is characteristically underlined and it is noted that:

“Unemployment is expected to fall below 10% next year – from over 40% at the height of the crisis. The country is also servicing its debts as a model student: loans from international creditors are being serviced and Athens has even repaid its crisis loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ahead of schedule. The public debt ratio is expected to fall to 147% in 2025 – up from 164% two years ago.”