Greece's Ministry of National Economy and Finance backs Euronext bid for the Athens Stock Exchange and urges more cross-border M&A in Europe

In a Reuters interview from Washington, Greece’s Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis called for a change in mindset across the European Union to enable more cross-border mergers and acquisitions to keep Europe competitive, and said Greece could be at the centre of some of these transactions. He also expressed government support for Euronext’s proposed acquisition of the Athens Stock Exchange. Pierrakakis argued that failing to facilitate more cross-border dealmaking carries a large opportunity cost that should be factored into EU policymaking. He said the Euronext transaction would provide the Athens Stock Exchange and the Greek economy access to a much wider pool of liquidity, and pointed to Greek companies that could pursue further synergies by acquiring firms in Europe and internationally or becoming targets themselves, citing infrastructure as an indicative sector. On investment and growth, he said projects financed under the Recovery Fund, which ends in 2026, will have spillover effects for years and that the main challenge ahead is increasing investment, adding that Greece expects stronger growth in 2026 than Europe’s large economies.