“The excessive public debt that undermined our national sovereignty and social cohesion is now rapidly deescalating,” the Minister of National Economy and Finance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, said during his visit to the Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA).
In his statement, Pierrakakis emphasized that after the full repayment of the IMF loans and the early repayment of the first and costly bailout loan, the risk that once existed has been eliminated.
He noted that “the country is reducing its debt and by 2029 it will no longer be the most indebted country in Europe. This is an achievement of the Greek people after many years of hardship. And it is an achievement upon which we must – and can – build.”
“Reducing the debt,” he stressed, “means greater freedom for the country, it means more economic opportunities. It means fewer burdens for the future and a stronger capacity for growth. It means greater trust in the eyes of the markets. This is a very significant achievement, and its is largely credited to the Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA), to its staff, and to its Director General, Mr. Tsakonas,” he emphasized.
Early Repayment of 31.6 billion euros by 2031
National Economy and Finance Ministry’s sources stated that Greece’s public debt is sustainable and has better prospects compared to other eurozone countries.
The same sources noted that a significant part of the debt – amounting to approximately 31.6 billion euros – will be repaid by 2031, a full decade ahead of its original maturity, as Pierrakakis recently announced. They also said that the terms under which Greece services its public debt are more favorable than those of Germany and other EU member states, with a servicing cost of just 1.73%.
According to the same sources, early repayments of loans from the first bailout program (Memorandum I) will continue in the coming years, with the aim of fully repaying this loan by 2031, instead of the initially planned 2041. Furthermore, they noted that in December 2025, the Greek state will proceed with an additional early repayment of the bailout loan amounting to at least 5.29 billion euros, covering maturities between 2033 and 2041.
Through this move, according to the same sources, the Greek government is sending a clear message of enhanced fiscal security – not only to the institutions and credit rating agencies but, more importantly, to international investors – demonstrating that it is acting with foresight and prudence, in a timely and safe manner, in order to further reduce its already declining annual gross financing needs beyond 2032.
Additionally, according to the Eurogroup decisions (May 2018), for the entire period between 2018 and 2032, if Greece meets its fiscal targets and proceeds with the structural reforms agreed with the institutions, but during that time a global economic crisis or force majeure event occurs – causing Greece’s public debt to become unsustainable (for reasons not attributable to the country) – then the European institutions and eurozone member states will re-examine the possibility of taking additional measures to ensure the sustainability of Greece’s debt, the same sources noted.
Moreover, they underlined that Greece has effectively secured a guarantee regarding the sustainability of its debt in the post-2032 period. Despite this assurance, although global events have occurred to date that could have put Greek debt on an unsustainable trajectory (such as the pandemic, energy crisis, geopolitical tensions, trade tariffs, etc.), the Greek state and government have successfully managed these crises, making the provision of additional measures in 2032 currently appear unnecessary, the same sources added.
Debt Profile
According to the same sources, all the hard work of the past 15 years has been aimed at shaping a general government public debt portfolio which, as of the end of 2024, has the following key features:
- Total debt: 364.8 billion euros
- Weighted average maturity of debt: 18.8 years
- Weighted average repricing duration: 18.2 years
- Annual debt servicing cost: 1.73%
