From Brain Drain Greece went to Brain Gain according to Kostis Hatzidakis. Official data that has changed the balance of immigration flow flows in our country since 2023, with those who come to be more than those who are leaving, the Deputy Prime Minister told in the Inforum Brain Retain & Regain, organized by In.gr in Athens Monday.

“Overall, out of 600,000 Greeks who left the crisis has returned 400,000. In addition, in 2023, for the first time since 2008, the Greek citizens’ input-outflow balance was positive: 47,200 of our compatriots returned to 32,800 who left, “Mr. Hatzidakis said, adding:

“This didn’t happen by accident. It is linked to the specific measures taken by the government, such as special tax incentives with a 50% tax deduction for 7 years for those who return, the efforts of the Ministry of Labor in cooperation with the business community in Greece, even more specific measures for doctors. But basically it has to do with the fact that the climate is gradually changing. We are no longer in Greece of the crisis. We haven’t become a paradise, but things are definitely different. There is a lot that needs to be done, but there are opportunities that lead to have more Greeks returning to the country than those who leave. “

Government Vice President noted a large decrease in unemployment since 2019 (In the last 5.5 years in a country 10.5 million inhabitants have created over half a million new jobs) and fees. “Without triumphant, I note that the minimum wage since 2019 increased by 35% and the average salary by 28% with a cumulative increase in inflation by 20%,” he said, adding:

“There is the theory that Greece is the second poorer country after Bulgaria. In contrast to this theory, the latest Eurostat and OECD data show that Greece was in 2024 in 17th in the EU in terms of average gross salary and 16th in terms of average net salary. Is anyone proud of it? Certainly not. But what I am saying is that we were much worse and we go up. “

Referring in particular to the efforts to return young people, Mr. Hatzidakis noted the efforts to support research, innovation and start-up businesses. “Recently a law on tax incentives in innovation that is the most progressive in the EU today has been passed. Also in the field of research despite the image of Greece is in the 15th place because we had a very substantial increase in spending between 2019 and 2023.” Specifically, total costs for research and development from the private and public sectors increased from € 2.33 billion in 2019 to 3.36 billion in 2023, ie 44.2%. Correspondingly, we had a 39.9% increase in the number of employed researchers: from 39,077 in 2019 to 54,680 in 2023.

The Deputy Prime Minister also said that the government’s initiatives to further strengthen the tendency of the return of Greeks who migrated abroad during the crisis included: Expanding the evaluation to the State, the preparation of unemployed and employees with certification of the knowledge they acquire, as well as legislative interventions on deep state pathogens.

As he said, in the week I will The results of the evaluation are presented Citizens’ services implemented by the Ministry of the Interior, and will proceed with a more effective evaluation in the fields of health and education.

“There is a sense of various research, he concluded that among the reasons why young people do not return are meritocracy and the general administrative environment. The digital modernization of the state has progressed significantly, but we must see more decisively the issue of the deep state and the issue of evaluation. We go more substantially and deeper, so that we can pass the message of meritocracy in practice. “