The European Commission shattered the myth of Greek success

European Commission in a new report on Greece acknowledged individual economic successes, but the overall conclusion sounds much less celebratory than government press releases: the country remains hostage to low productivity, expensive housing, a weak innovation base and an overburdened healthcare system.

According to European Commission report on Greece for 2026the Greek economy actually grew faster than average after the pandemic EU: in 2023–2025 real GDP increased by an average 2.1% per year against 1% according to the EU. But behind the beautiful macroeconomic showcase, an old problem remains: There is growth, but no qualitative breakthrough.

The European Commission explicitly states that per capita income in Greece in 2025 was only 68.4% from the EU average. Moreover, real GDP countries are still almost 14% below the 2008 peak. In other words, the government can talk as much as it wants about the “return of Greece,” but the statistics speak more simply: the country has not yet emerged from the long shadow of its own crisis.

The main wound is low productivity

The most painful point of the report is labor productivity. According to the European Commission, it is only 54.6% from the EU average. At the same time Greece shows the highest number of hours worked per employee in the European Union. That is, people work a lot, but the economy produces little added value.

This is the real Achilles heel of the Greek model. You cannot build a strong future on endless work for low returns. A country that does not produce enough sophisticated goods, technologies, innovations and high-value services is doomed to compensate for the gap with hours, fatigue and low wages.

The European Commission also notes that the economy continues to rely on low value-added sectors, including tourism, agriculture and small businesses that lack scale and access to international markets. This is not breakthrough economics. This is a survival economy with a good advertising campaign.

Innovation remains a weak point

Separately, the European Commission points to low investments in research and development. Corporate investments in R&D in Greece are growing, but still remain below the EU average: 0.9% GDP vs. 1.5% according to the European Union.

The problem is not just about money. Communication between universities, research centers and business remains weak, and small and medium-sized enterprises lag behind in the use of modern technologies. The European Commission specifically emphasizes that digital transformation is particularly difficult in SME.

After all the talk about “Digital Greece” this sounds particularly unpleasant. Digital references and apps are helpful. But the economy of the future is not built on a beautiful interface of government services, but on enterprises that produce, export, implement technologies and grow. The country is still doing poorly with this.

Housing has become a social trap

The second big problem is housing. The European Commission writes that strong demand and weak construction continue to put pressure on the market. In 2025, housing prices increased by 7.8%after growing by 9.1% in 2024. At the same time, rising prices and rents have outpaced income growth, and housing affordability has worsened.

It’s especially hard for young people, renters and households with a mortgage. According to the report, 37.4% Market-rate renters face overwhelming housing costs. Among owners with a mortgage, this figure is 20.9%. For comparison, the EU average is 19.2% And 5% respectively.

For low-income households the situation is even worse: people at risk of poverty have almost 88.9% face excessive housing pressure. This is no longer just a real estate market. This is a social meat grinder in which a working person increasingly pays not for life, but for the right to sleep somewhere.

The European Commission directly links the problem to years of weak investment in housing, legal logjams, inheritance disputes, debt and insufficient construction. Government policies, according to the report, must be strengthened to close the construction gap.

Translating from Brussels into human: there are measures, but they do not catch up with the crisis.

Healthcare: citizen pays

Third strike – healthcare system. The European Commission points out that Greek medicine still relies too heavily on hospitals, while outpatient and primary care remain underdeveloped.

The most telling indicator is the private spending of citizens. In 2023, government funding was only 61% total health care expenditures vs. 81% EU average. As a result, the share of direct payments from citizens’ pockets reached 34% – more than twice the EU average.

The reasons are familiar: long queues, staff shortages, dependence on private providers and the desire of people to bypass the wait if their health does not allow them to wait for months. The European Commission notes that high levels of private spending create serious risks for households, especially vulnerable ones.

Yes, the government is talking about reforms, a personal doctor, digital health and investment in hospitals. But the report admits that the effect is still limited. There is still a shortage of doctors and nurses in the regions, an uneven distribution of specialists and problems of access to care. That is, the system is being treated with reforms, but the patient still pays himself.

Macro success without a strong foundation

Government Kyriakos Mitsotakis loves to talk about growth, surpluses, investment and market confidence. Some of these arguments are indeed supported by the report: debt is falling, the fiscal position remains relatively strong, and unemployment has fallen to its lowest level since 2009.

But this is the problem with the current Greek success. From above the picture looks decent. At the bottom are low productivity, expensive rent, a weak innovation base, overburdened healthcare and regions that lag behind. Attica.

The European Commission also notes that Attica concentrates high-productivity sectors and scientific investment, while mountainous, island and remote regions remain dependent on low-productivity industries, seasonal tourism and weak infrastructure. The country is again developing unevenly: the center is gaining weight, the periphery is receiving promises.

Main conclusion

The European Commission’s report effectively destroys the government’s comfortable fairytale that Greece is already on a sustainable trajectory of success. Yes, the country is growing. Yes, some indicators are better than a few years ago. But the fundamental problems have not been solved.

Greece remains a country where people work too hard, produce too little value added, pay too much for housing and too often have to pay out of pocket for healthcare. This is not a model for a strong future. This is a model of a protracted recovery being sold as a victory.

Editorial comment

The main idea of ​​the report is simple and unpleasant: a country that does not produce cannot have a good future. You can distribute subsidies, open platforms, attract tourists and talk about GDP growth, but without productivity all this remains cosmetic.

What Greece needs is not just another presentation of success, but an economy that creates value, pays normal wages, builds affordable housing and gives people healthcare without having to dip into their last savings. While this is not the case, talk about “Greek miracle” look not like a strategy, but like an attempt to seal the cracks on the facade of a house whose foundation has long since sagged.

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