The Ministry of National Economy and Finance describes today’s announcement by the European Commission in the context of the European Semester 2026 as a development with particularly high symbolism and essential importance for the Greek economy.
The Commission finds that Greece no longer faces Macroeconomic Imbalances, removing the country from the relevant monitoring category for the first time since the outbreak of the Greek debt crisis.
As the ministry points out, this is a development of particular historical significance. After the decade of memoranda (2010- 2018), the Enhanced Surveillance regime (2018- 2022), Greece’s multi-year stay in the category of Excessive Macroeconomic Imbalances in the period 2019- 2024 and its inclusion in the category of Macroeconomic Imbalances in 2025, the country is now returning to full European normality.
The significance of the development, it adds, is even greater when considering that it takes place at a time when ten European Union member states are in an excessive deficit procedure. A fact that highlights not only the dramatic improvement in the fiscal position, but also the fact that the external imbalances and structural weaknesses of the economy have now been reduced to the extent that they do not pose a systemic risk to the country’s economic stability.
In particular:
*The European Commission acknowledges the great progress of the Greek economy*
In its assessment, the European Commission notes that vulnerabilities related to public and external debt have receded significantly in recent years. It said that solid growth, fiscal surpluses, improving bank balance sheets and the implementation of reforms have been instrumental in reducing the risks that have characterized the Greek economy for several years.
The Commission underlines that:
-Government debt is on a steady downward trend,
-external imbalances have narrowed,
-banks have significantly strengthened their balance sheets,
-The labor market has further improved,
-while the country has implemented a wide range of reforms in the business environment, labour market and tax administration
*Strong growth despite uncertain international environment*
The Greek economy grew by 2.1% in 2025, in an environment of high uncertainty for the European and global economy. The European Commission forecasts growth to continue at 1.8% in 2026 compared to the Eurozone average of 0.9%, confirming the resilience of the Greek economy.
*Fiscal surpluses and strong fiscal performance*
Greece recorded a general government surplus of 1.7% of GDP in 2025, compared to 1.3% of GDP in 2024.
According to the Commission, this performance was achieved thanks to:
-current expenditure restraint,
-to reduce debt service spending,
-and in the increased return on tax revenues.
Greece achieved this performance alongside reductions in insurance contributions, public sector wage increases and targeted measures to support households.
*Europe’s fastest debt deceleration continues*
European Commission records further significant reduction in public debt:
-154.2% of GDP in 2024,
-146.1% of GDP in 2025,
-140.7% of GDP in 2026 (forecast),
-134.4% of GDP in 2027 (forecast)
That is, in just three years, Greece is projected to reduce its debt-to-GDP ratio by almost 20 percentage points. The Commission attributes this to strong nominal economic growth and the maintenance of surplus budgetary outcomes.
*Recognition of reforms and digital transition*
The report pays particular attention to the reforms implemented in recent years.
Special mention is made:
-to the digitisation of tax administration,
-in the digitisation of customs controls,
-in the development of digital compliance tools,
-to significantly reduce the VAT gap,
-as well as the overall strengthening of tax compliance.
The Commission also highlights that Greece has made significant progress in modernising its public administration, while noting that public sector wage costs are set at 10.2% of GDP in 2025, remaining close to the EU average (10.3%).
*Above the European average in the implementation of European programmes*
The European Commission finds that the implementation of Cohesion Policy programmes in Greece is progressing faster than the European Union average, both in terms of project selection and payments.
In parallel, the important contribution of the Recovery and Resilience Fund in promoting investments and reforms that enhance the competitiveness and resilience of the economy is recognised.
*Another milestone on the country’s path*
Today’s decision by the European Commission is one of the most important institutional recognition of the progress Greece has made in recent years.
The exit from the Macroeconomic Imbalances regime, the maintenance of fiscal surpluses, the continued reduction of public debt, the improvement of the labour market, the progress in reforms and the strong use of European financing instruments all add up to an economy that has definitively left the characteristics of the crisis behind and continues on its path of stability, credibility and resilience, the Ministry said.
At the same time, the European Commission announced the possibility of extending the scope of the existing National Escape Clause to include, under specific conditions, expenditure and investments that enhance energy security and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.
In this context, a specific annual limit of 0.3% of GDP for the period 2026- 2028 and a cumulative limit of 0.6% of GDP for energy resilience investments are foreseen, within the overall flexibility framework already established for defence.
This initiative creates additional opportunities to accelerate strategic investments financed from national resources in critical areas such as energy, related infrastructure and resilience, while widening the scope for exploiting available budgetary possibilities under European rules.
