In the crowded amphitheater of the internationally recognized French University Sciences Po, the Minister of Finance spoke Kyriakos Pierrakakison the sidelines of the OECD Ministerial Conference that is currently (3.6.2025).
Kyriakos Pierrakakis was asked by the students of the School of Political Science on all issues related to our country, with the peak of the positive course of the Greek economy. The minister stressed Greece’s significant progress in fiscal stability, noting that the country achieved a primary surplus that exceeded the targets. At the same time, he pointed out that Greece is recording steady economic growth and attracting investment, proving that reforms and green and digital transitions are strong growth levers.
“Greece will not be the country with the largest public debt in the eurozone in 2029,” the minister said and highlighted the role of digital tools in a significant reduction in tax evasion. Referring to the underlying economy, he pointed out that it fell from 35-40% of GDP before the crisis to 15% today, which, he said, was mainly due to digital transformation.
For duties, Kyriakos Pierrakakis referred to the need to overcome the EU-USA trade dispute, while underlining the importance of implementing the Leata and Draghi proposals to abolish internal barriers to complete the single European market.
Jump in digitization
Referring to the progress of digitizing the Greek economy, Mr Pierrakakis emphasized that upgrading state digital services not only disproved disbelief towards the state, but also releases development potential. “Digitization must be the North in our compass to restore citizen confidence in the state,” he said.
Kyriakos Pierrakakis developed his vision of shaping the future through bold reformist policies, stressing that Greece has left behind the crisis and entered a time of radical changes and development.
He emphasized the importance of digital transition by pointing to modernization standards the creation of gov.gr, the introduction of electronic prescription and the digitization of more than 1,500 services, a development that has significantly reduced bureaucracy. “We need quick wins, such as digitizing the State to build a modern state,” he said.
Brain Regain
Special mention was made by the Ministry of Finance in the reform that paved the way for the creation of international university branches in Greece, stressing that “the connection of education and economics strengthens the economy of knowledge”.
Speaking about Brain Drain and the return of young people who left Greece during the crisis, the minister referred to a Thomas Friedman article in the New York Times published 15 years ago in the midst of the financial crisis. As the minister recalled, Friedman emphasized that he was not considering the daily fluctuation of Greek bonds but whether young people are returning to the country.
“If you see them leave, sell. If you see them returning or staying, buy, ”Friedman wrote, and on the occasion of this report, Kyriakos Pierrakakis called on those young Greeks living abroad to return to a different Greece today.