Greece Moves From Recovery to Economic Acceleration: Minister

Greece has entered a new phase of “acceleration” after more than a decade of crises and gradual recovery, Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Haris Theocharis declared, positioning the country as an emerging investment hub in energy, logistics, technology and tourism.

“For more than a decade, Greece’s narrative was defined by two words: survival and recovery. That chapter is closed—written, signed, archived, and placed firmly in the past,” Theocharis said. “I am not here to talk about recovery anymore, but about acceleration.”

He stressed that Greece has shifted “from crisis management to opportunity creation,” adding that the country is no longer trying to “catch up to Europe, but to surpass it” in key areas of growth.

Highlighting Greece’s strong economic performance, Theocharis noted that the country is “the growth champion in an otherwise stagnant region,” projecting GDP expansion “consistently above 2% for 2025 and 2026—clearly outperforming the Eurozone.” He also pointed to major improvements in fundamentals: Greece’s return to investment-grade status by all major rating agencies, unemployment at a 15-year low, and one of the fastest-declining public debt ratios among developed economies.

Energy, he said, is the “backbone of a new development model.” In the first quarter of 2025, renewable energy sources covered 74% of Greece’s electricity generation, a milestone he described not as a forecast but as “an operational reality.”

Theocharis emphasised the importance of international energy links, referring to the vertical energy corridor extending from Greece through Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova to Ukraine—an initiative creating an integrated, bidirectional system for transporting energy and natural gas from Greek entry points to some of Europe’s most energy-dependent markets.

On logistics and technology, he underlined that “geography is destiny—and Greece is reclaiming its destiny.” No longer just a tourism powerhouse, the country is evolving into a major regional logistics and technology gateway, with Piraeus, Thessaloniki and Alexandroupoli emerging as critical hubs.

Theocharis highlighted significant technology investments, noting that Greece has attracted “multi-million-euro commitments from Microsoft, Google and Amazon Web Services,” describing these not as isolated announcements but part of a broader strategic shift.

Turning to tourism, he said Greece is moving “from mass tourism to high-quality and sustainable tourism,” with a steady rise in visitor spending and increasing interest in premium travel experiences.

He also referred to major real-estate developments, particularly the Ellinikon project—the largest airport urban redevelopment in Europe—which he said demonstrates that Greece “can design, build and deliver world-class projects.”

Theocharis underscored that Greece now offers “one of the most stable, predictable and investment-friendly environments in Europe,” supported by a pro-investment government with a clear mandate through 2027.

“Six years ago, investing in Greece was an act of compliance,” he concluded. “Today, it is a strategic capital allocation. Greece is already building the energy pipelines, logistics corridors and data networks that will power Europe’s next decade.”