Public debt will be reduced to 2009 levels, that is, before the 10-year crisis, by 2026.

According to the new draft budget, it will amount to 359 billion euros next year, or 137.6% of GDP (a reduction of 7.8 percentage points of GDP compared to 2025), down from 147.8% of GDP in 2010, when Greece received its first bailout package.

This is due to the fact that a new early repayment of European GLF loans, which have a floating interest rate, is expected to be implemented in December, with the pro-rata repayment of loans maturing between 2033 and 2041, totaling 5.29 billion euros. This follows loan repayments of 7.935 billion euros in December 2024, 5.29 billion euros in December 2023, and 2.645 billion euros in December 2022. These are loans from the first memorandum, which constitute the largest burden in the debt portfolio.

The main objective is to repay these bilateral loans a decade earlier than their final maturity date, that is, by 2031 at the latest, so that public debt is reduced both in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP.

As ministry officials note, early repayment has multiple benefits:

• Reducing interest costs and limiting debt service obligations.
• Enhancing credibility, as markets and rating agencies will see that the country is actively managing its debt rather than relying on extensions.
• Limiting refinancing risks and reducing exposure to possible future international turbulence.
• Creating fiscal space by cutting interest expenditure.

In conclusion, based on the ministry’s plan, the outlook is to bring public debt below 100% of GDP by 2035. The IMF’s projections converge on the assumption that by 2030 Greece’s debt will stand at 125% of GDP, lower than Italy’s, which, as ministry officials point out, reflects the significant progress made in consolidating Greece’s fiscal position.