Euronext chief bets on Greece’s next chapter as Athens joins pan-European market

In a play when the Greek system is decisively moving beyond the situation years and returning to the forefront of planetary capitalist interest, the transformation of the Athens Stock Exchange into Euronext Athens takes connected peculiar value — not simply arsenic a concern transaction, but arsenic a strategic repositioning of the state connected Europe’s fiscal map.

As Stéphane Boujnah, Chief Executive Officer of Euronext, tells Naftemporiki, Athens “will not simply articulation the network; it will assistance signifier it,” with the ambition of becoming 1 of the group’s cardinal pillars successful the years ahead. What does this integration bring? Direct entree for Greek companies to Europe’s largest excavation of liquidity, enhanced planetary visibility and, potentially, a caller wave of “corporate homecoming” for Greek firms that sought superior abroad.

“We are not investing successful Greece for what it has been; we are investing for what it will become,” Mr Boujnah stresses, speaking to Naftemporiki connected the juncture of the 11th Delphi Economic Forum, which opens today and runs until April 25.

Within this context, the caput of Euronext highlights Athens’ relation arsenic a hub for technology, vigor markets and the financing of some the nationalist and backstage sectors, astatine a clip when Europe is called upon to conscionable the situation of deeper integration and greater strategic autonomy.

The afloat interrogation follows:

Euronext’s acquisition of the Athens Stock Exchange marks a important milestone for some Greece and your group. What strategic relation bash you envision for Athens within the broader Euronext ecosystem implicit the adjacent 5 years? 

This integration is overmuch much than an acquisition: it is simply a semipermanent committedness to Greece and to the relation that Athens tin play successful Europe’s economical future. At a infinitesimal when the Greek system is performing strongly, we want to springiness Greek companies nonstop entree to the largest European liquidity pool, planetary investors, accrued maturation opportunities for listed Greek companies and a much charismatic marketplace for companies that take to list.

Over the adjacent 5 years, I spot Athens becoming 1 of the strategic pillars of Euronext. It will not simply articulation our network; it will assistance signifier it. Athens has the imaginable to go Euronext’s gateway to Southeastern Europe and a hub for technology, vigor markets, sovereign indebtedness and the financing of Greek and determination companies.

We are already acting connected this vision. We are establishing a caller Group-level support and technology centre successful Athens, which will support Euronext’s concern lines crossed Europe and make highly skilled jobs successful Greece. We besides mean to strengthen practice betwixt Nord Pool and the Greek powerfulness marketplace relation EnEx and to facilitate the trading of the Greek sovereign indebtedness connected MTS to amended its liquidity.

The rebranding to “Euronext Athens” reflects this ambition: preserving a strong Greek individuality while connecting Athens to a pan-European marketplace.

Greece has precocious regained investment-grade status and is seeing renewed capitalist interest. How bash you measure the timing of this move, and what does Greece bring to Euronext in terms of maturation potential? 

The timing is precisely right. Greece is nary longer defined by the situation of the past decade; it is progressively recognised arsenic 1 of Europe’s strongest betterment stories. Regaining investment-grade status is planetary designation of the discipline, resilience and ambition that Greece has demonstrated implicit galore years.

Today, Greece combines stronger macroeconomic fundamentals, governmental stability and increasing capitalist confidence. For Euronext, we spot the imaginable to assistance accelerate this maturation momentum. We spot a state with talented people, dynamic companies and important imaginable for caller listings, peculiarly among small and medium-sized enterprises and family-owned businesses.

We are not investing successful Greece due to the fact that of what it has been; we are investing due to the fact that of what it will be.

#Euronext is delighted to denote the rebranding of @ATHEX_Group to Euronext Athens and unveils its caller firm identity, marking a cardinal step successful the integration of the Greek superior marketplace into Euronext. Learn more: https://t.co/NL2uyz8WVI pic.twitter.com/U1O4xJkNsJ

— Euronext (@euronext) April 20, 2026

One of the long-standing challenges of the Greek marketplace has been liquidity and constricted depth. How will integration into the Euronext platform amended marketplace liquidity, visibility, and entree to planetary superior for Greek-listed companies? 

For too long, the Greek marketplace has suffered from a paradox: Greece has galore strong companies, but too fewer person had entree to the standard of superior and visibility they deserve. As a result, some of the country’s astir successful businesses person looked overseas to concern their growth.

The integration of Athens into Euronext changes this fundamentally. Greek companies will summation entree to the largest liquidity excavation successful Europe, supported by a marketplace infrastructure that today handles twice the trading volumes of the London Stock Exchange and three times those of Frankfurt.

Companies listed connected Euronext Athens will progressively payment from our communal technology and the broadest capitalist basal successful Europe. They will go visible to the aforesaid planetary investors that already put crossed Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Milan, Oslo and Paris. This is peculiarly important for medium-sized Greek companies, which often person strong fundamentals but insufficient planetary visibility.

This will promote much Greek companies to stay listed successful Greece, much companies to see a dual listing, and possibly adjacent some signifier of ”corporate nostos”. More broadly, this integration is afloat aligned with Europe’s thrust towards greater strategic autonomy and a genuine Single Investment Union.

Euronext has positioned itself arsenic a cardinal pillar successful advancing the European Capital Markets Union. How does the inclusion of Athens strengthen your vision for a much integrated and competitory European superior market? 

The inclusion of Athens is important not lone for Greece, but for Europe. It demonstrates that European marketplace integration is not an abstract governmental ambition but a applicable reality.

Europe remains too fragmented. Too galore exchanges, clearing houses and marketplace infrastructures. This weakens liquidity, increases costs and makes it harder for European companies to vie globally.

Euronext was created to code precisely this challenge. The integration of Athens is different factual step towards a genuine European superior market.

In a world of geopolitical fragmentation and expanding contention among planetary fiscal centres, however bash you see Euronext differentiating itself — and what relation tin Southeast Europe, starting with Greece, play successful that strategy? 

In a world that is becoming much fragmented, Europe cannot spend to stay divided. The fiscal powers of the aboriginal will beryllium those with the scale, technology and strategic autonomy to vie globally. That is precisely where Euronext differentiates itself.

Over the past 25 years, we person built Europe’s starring superior markets infrastructure: the largest excavation of liquidity successful Europe, an integrated clearing location and a technology level serving markets crossed the continent. We person shown that European consolidation is possible.

The integration of Athens gives us a strong level for the adjacent stage of our development. Greece is uniquely positioned astatine the crossroads of Europe, the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean. From Athens, Euronext tin go a earthy gateway to Southeastern Europe.

Euronext has been investing heavy successful integer infrastructure and precocious marketplace technologies. How bash you spot artificial quality transforming trading, hazard management, and marketplace surveillance? 

Artificial quality will profoundly transform fiscal markets. It will marque exchanges much efficient, peculiarly successful marketplace surveillance, cyber-security, and hazard management.

More broadly, Europe indispensable guarantee that the adjacent procreation of AI successful concern is built connected European technology and according to European standards, interests and values. Strategic autonomy successful superior markets besides requires technological autonomy. And this again is simply a bully crushed to articulation forces crossed Europe. It is amended to succeed together than to neglect separately.