Faced with serious liquidity risks there are thousands of small and medium -sized enterprises (Media) in Greece, as delays in payments of Public have been ejected at record levels, according to the latest official data announced yesterday (18.6.2025).
Within the first four months of 2025, the total amount of state debts to individuals approached 4 billion euros, creating conditions in the market and affecting the media in particular the SMEs, which are in lack of liquidity.
The biggest blow is the media working with public bodies and are waiting for months to be paid for goods and services. Particularly in the health sector, the accumulated liabilities of hospitals to suppliers exceeded € 1.65 billion in April, following a growth course for years.
This explosive increase deprives businesses of valuable capital, limits the possibility of investment and intensifies uncertainty in an already pressured industry.
A serious problem is also found in tax refunds, with the pending reaching € 760 million, an amount that remains unexplained at a time when businesses need immediate liquidity. In particular, delays of more than 90 days exceeds € 290 million, with much of them being associated with procedural deficiencies or intersection problems, exacerbating the uncertainty for taxpayers.
According to Newsit.gr sources from the trade industry, the lack of liquidity is a major problem for the viability of Greek small and medium -sized enterprises, inhibiting their daily operation and investment activity. According to available data, almost half of businesses say they have cash reserves that are sufficient for less than a month, while in particularly vulnerable areas, such as focus, the percentage of those who have no available is 30%.
At the same time, more than 50% of B2B transactions record delayed payments, often due to lack of funds to customers, which creates chain impacts on entire business chains. Despite the hitherto gradual improvement of interest rate policy, access to bank lending remains difficult for much of the businesses, limiting investment and growth. Especially in sectors such as trade, tourism and constructions, where seasonal liquidity is required, the situation is particularly pressing.
It should be noted that the issue of government debt has now taken on European dimensions, as the Commission has already pointed out that chronic delays in Greek State payments undermine the competitiveness of the economy, with an emphasis on businesses in the health sector. Greece, in fact, is already targeted by European justice on this issue.
Despite the occasional announcements of clearing state debts, total government debts – including social security organizations, local government and other public bodies – are steadily increasing. The situation is expected to be further burdened as the delay in tax refunds and the deterioration of the general government’s cash flows continue.