Greek growth should be an example to Europe

Across the 2000s and 2010s, Greece was the symbol of our continent’s economic woes. However, under the leadership of New Democracy, our journey has been transformed. Since the turn of the decade, we have begun reaping the rewards of robust economic planning - leading to rising pensions, wages, and benefits – and most importantly of all, growth, writes Christina Georgaki, founder and managing partner of Georgaki and Partners Law Firm.

It has been reported recently that Greece’s economy is set to grow at 1.9% in 2026. Despite this being a minor revision from previous expectations, the reasons to be bullish about Greece’s economic future are multiple. Firstly, the downgrade is not a long-term reflection of Greece’s economic transformation with growth set to bounce back to the healthy 2.1% in 2027. Indeed, new measures such as the newly revealed 1.6-billion-euro tax cuts announced at the Thessaloniki International Fair last month – which I was delighted to attend and speak at - are expected to lead to higher-than-forecast growth next year and the year after.

There is a reason that politicians across the Bloc and beyond are chasing the ever-elusive economic growth and our figures do not just equate to numbers on a spreadsheet for technocrats to fawn over. They have tangible effects on the day-to-day lives of Greeks resulting in increased living standards, more jobs and higher incomes

Comparatively too, these figures far outstrip the Eurozone average growth of around 1.2%. With trading patterns shifting and global uncertainty rising, Greece’s growth figures are an example for the rest of Europe. Investment levels in the country are at 40% above pre-COVID levels in real terms and Greek firms are more engaged in international trade than our EU neighbours (74% vs. 63%).

Higher growth is also means stability. With growth steadily rising, Greece is now running primary budget surpluses. International investment is booming, with public money channelled not into waste but into infrastructure, digitalization, and support for private business. Even our tax system – once criticised as Europe’s most cumbersome - has been rewired by technology, leading to a new streamlined and user-friendly collection service at the heart of government. New Democracy is showing the Continent that the solutions to our problems to not exist among soundbites, but sensible, growth-focussed planning.

Our newly found growth and confidence are not accidental. They are the product of deliberate choices by New Democracy, who have restored our credibility with markets and institutions. Last month, as part of the biggest tax reform since 1974, it was revealed that rates on earnings between €10,000 and €40,000 will be cut by two percentage points and incentives have been put in place for young people starting families.

The lesson for Europe is clear: pragmatism, reform and solidity matter. Fiscal stability is not the enemy of growth, it is its foundation. Strategic investment encouraged by tax reforms - combined with institutional discipline - can deliver both rising living standards and international credbility. In an era when many European economies are stagnating, Greece offers a path forward. A country once dismissed as Europe’s weakest link has become its blueprint.

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