EDITORIAL /
Our View: Budget Beat (Again)
CEO, Enterprise Greece
For yet another year, Greece surpassed its budget surplus targets and looks on track to continue that way. There are three takeaways from the country’s latest budget beat: the government is minding spending, tax conformity is on the rise, and Greece is setting new benchmarks in fiscal prudence.
More importantly, the latest data are a manifestation of the profound transformation Greece has undergone over the past decade. And they underscore how Greece has become a leader: setting new records in debt reduction and paying off debts well ahead of schedule.
In 2025, Greece posted a record primary budget surplus of €12.1 billion, or 4.9% of GDP, well above the revised 3.7% target. More than half of that roughly €2.9 billion outperformance was due to lower-than-expected government spending, showing how the Greek government is living within its means.
Meanwhile, more than a third of that outperformance was from stronger revenue collection, thanks to both economic growth and a sharp reduction in tax evasion. Indeed, just 10% of the additional 2025 surplus came from indirect taxes – the rest reflects revenue gains from a broadening tax base as anti-evasion measures take hold.
Greece is now one of only five EU member states posting a headline fiscal surplus in 2025 – versus average deficits in both the EU and Eurozone of about 3% of GDP. Combined with nominal GDP growth and early debt retirement, Greece’s public debt over the past five years has fallen more than 60 percentage points – the fastest and largest decline ever recorded in Europe.