Greece's government plans to cut electricity costs by 30% and extend a 400-euro pension supplement to 270,000 more retirees starting in November, Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis has said, detailing a package of relief measures Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced at the Thessaloniki International Fair.
Speaking to Greek broadcaster SKAI, Mr. Pierrakakis, who also chairs the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, said the measures were designed to give households "meaningful breathing room" within the country's available fiscal space, targeting pensioners, public employees, teachers, uniformed personnel, health workers and families.
He said the 400-euro payment is a net amount on top of Greece's national pension, and that similar support would extend to civil servants.
On energy, he said Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou would provide further details on plans to lower electricity costs by 30%, citing low European gas reserves, disruptions at liquefied natural gas facilities and Qatar's absence from the market as reasons for concern heading into winter.
Mr. Pierrakakis said investment in electricity and storage infrastructure offered a more durable fix than short-term subsidies alone.
The minister also outlined a new government-backed youth savings program, dubbed the "piggy bank," under which the state will match personal contributions up to 1,200 euros a year, euro for euro.
He described it as a long-term structural reform rather than a one-off handout, aimed at reviving Greece's savings culture and mobilizing some of the roughly 3 trillion euros sitting idle in European bank deposits.
Asked whether the government had a backup plan if additional support were needed, Mr. Pierrakakis said no, adding that Greece's fiscal space was already larger than initially planned due to an energy-related "escape clause" negotiated with Brussels.
Responding to recent criticism from former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Mr. Pierrakakis said politics "should be about the future, not the past," while praising Mr. Mitsotakis' electoral record and current polling lead over the opposition.