Greece's Ministry of National Economy and Finance seeks ECOFIN backing for defence spending escape clause enabling EUR 500 million increase in 2026

Greece’s Ministry of National Economy and Finance announced that Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis will travel to Brussels to participate in the Eurogroup meeting on 7 July and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) on 8 July. For Greece, the main issue at ECOFIN is the expected adoption of European Commission recommendations on activating the national escape clause for defence expenditure. The Eurogroup agenda includes the election of a new president, fiscal coordination, an assessment of the international role of the euro, further strengthening of the Capital Markets Union, and discussion of progress on the digital euro. ECOFIN will meet for the first time under Denmark’s Presidency of the Council of the EU and is expected to consider the escape-clause recommendations covering 15 Member States; Greece submitted an early request following the European Council decision of 6 March 2025, seeking to exclude defence spending from fiscal targets, which the ministry said would allow an additional EUR 500 million in defence spending in 2026. Ministers are also due to discuss Danish Presidency priorities, international developments in taxation and trade, a new package to revise the EU securitisation framework under the Savings and Investments Union, legal acts for Bulgaria’s euro adoption on 1 January 2026, and the adoption of country-specific recommendations and in-depth assessments from the European Commission.