Greece’s draft budget for 2026, expected to be submitted to parliament on October 6, forecasts economic growth above 2% and a primary surplus of 2.4%.
Following announcements at the Thessaloniki International Fair by Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the new tax bill will include all the announced reliefs and social support measures targeting mainly the middle class.
The finance ministry aims to continue securing primary surpluses in coming years through high growth rates and tax evasion reduction efforts.
The government targets reducing public debt to below 120% of GDP by the early 2030s, ahead of schedule, paying off Greece’s first bailout early by 2031 instead of 2041.
For 2025, the primary surplus is expected to exceed both the original 2.4% target and updated forecasts raising it to 3.2% of GDP.
Preliminary data show a primary surplus of €8.5 billion in January-August, far surpassing the budgeted €4.9 billion. Current estimates push the 2025 surplus beyond 3.5%.
GDP growth for 2025 is forecast around 2.3%, recently revised by the Bank of Greece to 2.2%.
Recovery funds remain a crucial component, with the seventh disbursement request of €3.5 billion planned for November 2025; €1.7 billion in grants and €1.8 billion in loans. Further requests will follow in 2026.
The government also plans another early loan repayment of €5.29 billion in December to reduce debt further from the expected 145% of GDP in 2025 to below 140% in 2026.