October 18, 2026

Athens News

News in English from Greece

The European Commission has cooled the Greek “success”


Forecast European Commission hits government rhetoric: growth in Greece slows down, inflation accelerates, and Citizens are again asked to endure. Brussels seems to have realized that a couple more years of such “glossy” policies and Greece will fall into an economic tailspin.

Spring forecast European Commission was a nasty blow to the government’s fairy tale about “economic success”. The Greek economy is not collapsing, but it is clearly losing steam: growth is slowing, inflation is putting pressure on the wallet again, and the effect of European money is coming to an end.

According to the forecast European CommissionGDP growth Greece will decrease from 2.1% in 2025 until 1.8% in 2026 and 1.6% in 2027. This is not a disaster, but also not the triumph that the government Kyriakos Mitsotakis for years sold to voters like winners of the Economic Olympiad.

Inflation, estimated European Commissionwill grow to 3.7% in 2026 against 2.9% in 2025. In 2027 it may drop to 2.4%but for households this is little consolation: prices have already risen, and salaries and pensions, as usual, are running behind them somewhere far behind.

European money is running out

The main problem is the dependence of the Greek economy on external support. Means Ταμείο Ανάκαμψης (Recovery Fund, RRF) supported investments and helped the government show a pretty picture. But as the program ends, this momentum will weaken.

And here the main thing becomes clear: for too long the government has been passing off European funds, tourism and tax revenues from high prices as its own economic miracle. Convenient model: the citizen pays more for food, energy and fuel, and the budget vigorously collects more through ΦΠΑ And ΕΦΚ. Success, of course, if you look at life from Excel.

Citizens are being billed again

The energy shock, high import dependence and rising prices will again hit real incomes. Private consumption will weaken, and households will spend more carefully. For an economy that relies on consumption, tourism and external money, this is a bad signal.

At the same time, structural problems have not disappeared anywhere: long-term unemployment remains high, there are not enough workers in tourism and construction, the labor market does not match the real skills of people, and the public debt, even decreasing, remains huge – about 134% GDP by 2027.

  • economic growth slows down;
  • inflation puts renewed pressure on families;
  • European funds cease to be the main motor;
  • citizens’ income lag behind prices;
  • social irritation will grow.

Editorial comment

Forecast European Commission is not a verdict, but it takes the gloss off the display Mitsotakis. Brussels, in dry language, shows what citizens already see every day: the economy is growing weaker, prices are pressing harder, and government rhetoric is increasingly falling in line with reality.

The main problem is not one bad prognosis. The problem is in the model where the government calls stability a situation in which the budget benefits from high prices, while citizens lose at the store, at the gas station, and when paying bills.

If the economy rests on European money, tourism and taxes on rising costs of living, this is not a sustainable strategy, but an expensive decoration. And they are again offering to pay for it to those who live not on government presentations, but on salaries and pensions.



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