- Greek Budget – The Greek government continues to outperform its fiscal targets with a first half primary budget surplus of €4.7 billion, according to the latest finance ministry data, more than double a target of €2.2 billion. The improved performance was due to increased tax collections, which amounted to €32.3 billion in the six months to June and which were 7.8% above targets.
- Greek Satellite – Greece marked its first official presence in space with the successful launch of the DUTHSAT-2 nanosatellite, designed and built by researchers at the Democritus University of Thrace with support from national research institutes and companies. The satellite will collect environmental data on soil moisture and marine pollution. It is the second nanosatellite to be built at the Democritus University of Thrace and one of roughly a dozen satellites Greece aims to launch into orbit over the next few years.
- Logistics Center – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has chosen Thessaloniki as the headquarters of its new International Supply Chain Management Centre to support its global humanitarian operations. IOM will manage procurements of up to $1.7 billion annually from the center, something that is seen as boosting Greece’s role as a logistics hub.
- Strategic Investments – The Greek government has approved 15 strategic investments worth €2.5 billion in the past ten months, half of which relate to industry, according to Minister of Development Takis Theodorikakos. The projects approved since last August include 7 industrial projects worth €900 million, 6 tourism projects worth € 1.45 billion, and two research and technology projects worth €136 million.
- Greek FDI – Greece reported its second best year ever for attracting Foreign Direct Investment last year, according to data from the UN Conference on Trade and Development. In 2024, Greece attracted $7.3 billion in FDI, up 41.5% from 2023. The record high was $8.45 billion in 2022.
- Bank Credit – The stock of non-performing loans held by Greek banks fell to the lowest level in more than two decades which, combined with new bond issues, has allowed the country’s financial institutions to ramp up lending to business, according to the Bank of Greece. NPLs fell below €6 billion for the first time since 2002 at the end of last year with an NPL ratio of 3.77%. In April, bank credit to businesses expanded by 17.2% year-on-year in April, supporting investment and liquidity in the real economy.
- Marine Parks – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the creation of two new National Marine Parks — one in the Ionian Sea and one in the Southern Cyclades in the Aegean Sea. “These parks will be among the largest marine protected areas in the entire Mediterranean. They will allow us to achieve the target of protecting 30% of our territorial waters by 2030, much earlier than planned,” Mr. Mitsotakis said.
- Greek Judiciary – The government has proceeded with efforts to speed up judicial decisions as part of its ongoing efforts to overhaul the Greek judiciary. Under new rules, decisions on civil cases must be delivered within eight months and become final within two years. Injunctions will be resolved within one month. In addition, the courts will create digital case files for every proceeding, the processing time for wills by notaries will be cut from 300 to just 7 days, and low-complexity cases will be reassigned to available lawyers and notaries to ease court workloads.