Latest news with #KyriakosPierrakakis
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Greece Bailout Loans Should Be 'Behind Us By 2031': Finance Minister
Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis says the nation plans to repay loans from its first bailout program 10 years ahead of schedule. The last repayment of this set of loans was scheduled for 2041, but Pierrakakis tells Bloomberg's Oliver Crook "it should be completely behind us by 2031." He adds: "We plan to continue de-escalating our debt. We don't plan to pass the bill to the next generation as all the previous generations in Greece did."
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
In Full: Greek Finance Minister on Trade, Loans, Economy
Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis discusses the nation's plans to repay loans from its first bailout program ahead of schedule, saying "it should be completely behind us by 2031." In an interview with Oliver Crook, Pierrakakis also talks about the potential trade deal between the US and China, as well as what higher tariffs could mean for the European economy and supply chains. He also speaks about Greece's economy and defense spending. Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
13-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
EU Should Allow Defense-Spending Boost, Greek Finance Chief Says
The European Union should go ahead and allow budget flexibility for more defense spending across the region, according to Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis. Speaking on Bloomberg Television on Monday, he endorsed greater flexibility for countries seeking to boost military outlays, in line with a recent push by the bloc.
Bloomberg
12-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Greece Wants to Repay Bailout Loans 10 Years Ahead of Time
Greece plans to repay loans from its first bailout program 10 years ahead of schedule, Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis said, a move that's set to ease the country's debt burden in the future. 'It should be completely behind us by 2031,' he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television from Brussels on Monday. Fiscal prudence is not a policy choice 'it's a regime,' he added.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Greece to repay first bailout loans by 2031, 10 years early
By Lefteris Papadimas ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will pay off loans granted under the first of three debt-crisis bailouts by 2031, two government officials told Reuters, as the country seeks to lose its label as the most indebted country in the European Union. The payments, which will come in 5-billion-euro ($5.7 billion) annual increments, will allow Greece to pay off the debt 10 years before the loans expire, the officials said on condition of anonymity. The Greek economy is gradually rebounding from a 2009-2018 crisis that saw it nearly drop out of the euro zone and that triggered years of social unrest as ordinary citizens fought against austerity-induced cuts in wages and pensions. "Our aim is to fully repay, ten years earlier than scheduled, the rest of the loans from the first bailout which expire by 2041," said one of the officials. The source said that Greece will tap a 37 billion-euro cash buffer, proceeds from higher-than-projected primary surpluses and new bond issues to fund the repayments. In an interview with Reuters, Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis did not comment on the specifics of the timing or the size of the yearly payments, but did acknowledge that loans would be paid back ahead of schedule. "We are confident that this approach will enable Greece to shed the title of the most indebted EU country within the coming years," he said. "This is a realistic and achievable goal." Greece's public debt, now the highest in the euro zone, is expected to drop below 140% by 2027, Pierrakakis said, without giving an exact figure. Borrowing costs have fallen sharply since Greece regained investment grade status in 2023 and are now lower than Italy. The two officials said Greece's public debt is expected to drop to about 135% by 2027, potentially above Italy, whose debt is expected to rise to 138% of GDP in 2026. Greece's crisis began in 2009 when the government discovered a giant hole in the country's finances, caused by decades of tax evasion and bloated public services. As the crisis threatened to derail the EU economy, Greece received three bailouts from euro zone countries and the International Monetary Fund between 2010 and 2015, worth 280 billion euros. Greece paid off the IMF in 2022 and by the end of 2024 had paid off 22 billion euros of its 53-billion-euro first bailout. The rest will now be paid by 2031. Many Greeks who lost everything in the crisis are still struggling with lower wages and inflation. But the economy has rebounded and the government expects 2.3% growth this year, twice the euro zone's average. As the debt of major EU economies, including Germany and Italy, is rising in part due to increased defence spending, Greece has cut its debt burden by more than 50 percentage points since 2020, to 147% of GDP. The second government official said that the debt will decline in 2024, as an absolute number, for the first time since it exited its third bailout, to 365.8 billion euros. ($1 = 0.8818 euros) Sign in to access your portfolio
