Yannis Stournaras: The most important intangible asset of the economy is political stability

Yannis Stournaras provided an wide appraisal of the people of the Greek economy, analyzing the challenges of 2026 and aboriginal prospects amid planetary uncertainty.

Speaking to the SKAI vigor station, helium described 2025 arsenic 1 of the champion years for the Greek economy, with maturation reaching 2.1%—significantly higher than the European average—and nationalist finances showing an fantabulous picture, with reduced indebtedness and beardown superior surpluses.

However, helium pointed retired that ostentation remained higher than successful Europe (2.9% compared to 2.1%), attributing this to “excess demand” generated by tourism (45 cardinal visitors successful a state of 10 cardinal people).

For 2026, the Governor expressed reservations owed to the escalation of warfare successful the Middle East. He forecast a flimsy slowdown successful maturation to 1.9%, assuming the situation de-escalates soon, portion stressing that risks stay tilted to the downside.

Investments stay a cardinal operator of the economy, with projected maturation of 8.8%. Yannis Stournaras highlighted the synergy betwixt the backstage sector, banks, and the Recovery Fund, portion easing concerns astir a imaginable “cliff effect” aft the money ends, noting that EU programs volition proceed to supply akin support. He besides emphasized that investments person risen importantly from 11% of GDP successful 2019 to 18% today.

Responding to disapproval astir Greeks’ debased purchasing power, helium acknowledged that convergence with Europe is simply a dilatory process owed to the “deep footprint” of the erstwhile crisis. However, helium noted that GDP per capita successful purchasing powerfulness presumption has accrued from 64% successful 2019 to astir 68–69%.

According to him, the solution lies not successful reducing request but successful strengthening proviso and productivity. He clarified that productivity does not mean longer moving hours, but amended nationalist services, faster justness delivery, reduced bureaucracy, and investments successful superior instrumentality and education.

He made peculiar notation to the superior sector, citing the Netherlands arsenic an example, which is 4–5 times much productive than Greece successful agriculture owed to exertion (such arsenic greenhouses), urging Greek producers to follow palmy models and cooperatives.

Regarding the shadiness economy, helium said that integer transactions and POS systems person importantly reduced it, though it inactive stands astatine 20–21% of GDP (compared to 15–16% successful the EU). He stressed that afloat tackling taxation evasion—especially successful fuels—requires implicit implementation of input-output monitoring systems.

Concluding, Yannis Stournaras reiterated the request for governments to implicit their afloat four-year term. He described governmental stableness arsenic the country’s astir important intangible asset, emphasizing that aboriginal elections shorten a government’s effectual clip and make instability astatine a infinitesimal erstwhile outer crises necessitate swift decision-making.

“Especially present that the concern successful the Middle East has escalated, we request a authorities susceptible of making decisions, chiefly to code outer crises—and possibly the astir hard challenges are inactive up successful the lawsuit of the Middle East,” helium concluded, sending a connection astir safeguarding the system done organization stability.