Greece's Ministry of National Economy and Finance published key points from Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis’ speech at the Economist Impact “The World Ahead 2026: Athens Gala Dinner”, framing climate, energy and demography as an interconnected set of challenges that require institutional speed and operational capacity. The remarks emphasised cooperation over uniformity in Europe and set out priorities for energy security, European competitiveness and maintaining fiscal credibility. On energy, the speech highlighted Europe’s vulnerabilities in dependency, infrastructure and coordination, and pointed to actions such as diversifying supplies, stabilising markets, expanding reserves and accelerating investment, with Greece positioning its geography and regional cooperation as an asset alongside renewables. On competitiveness, it argued that internal European barriers function like tariffs, citing an International Monetary Fund analysis estimating “de facto tariffs” of 44% on goods and over 100% on services, and called for three immediate steps: removing internal barriers and bureaucracy, enabling scale through cross-border capital markets and expansion-supportive regulation and public procurement, and deploying technology including artificial intelligence supported by clear regulation to manage risks and underpin trust. The speech also referenced Greece’s economic position, including an expected 2.4% growth rate, a primary surplus, early and on-time repayment of memorandum-era obligations, positive ten-year sovereign yields, and signs of returning emigrant youth, alongside a message that credibility rests on fiscal prudence supported by stronger institutions, digitalisation and tackling tax evasion.

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