With state “debts“ moving above the €3 billion threshold and draining valuable liquidity from the market, Greece’s Ministry of Finance is hardening its stance, sending an ultimatum to agencies that delay payments. In the circular for the execution of the 2026 budget, Deputy Finance Minister Thanos Petralias emphasizes that “minimizing overdue obligations of General Government entities contributes decisively to budget rehabilitation and strengthening the economy’s liquidity.”
Simultaneously, he gives clear orders to the General Directorate of Financial Services and supervisors:
- To ensure immediate settlement of overdue obligations to third parties, both from the Central Administration entity itself and its supervised entities from their own resources, as well as to prevent accumulation of new overdue obligations to third parties, and
- To examine the reasons why payment delays occur and overdue obligations accumulate, and to ensure immediate resolution of potential problems by taking necessary legislative, administrative or other measures to address them.
He also requests that entities submitting monthly adjustment data investigate whether further overdue obligations exist that fall under relevant adjustment categories (debts under judicial claim, restoration of fixed advances, debts unpaid due to external factors such as beneficiary non-appearance or failure to provide documentation, garnishments) and ensure their inclusion in relevant lists.
The “debts”
State “debts,” which during 2018-2022 were limited below €2 billion, in recent years began to “balloon” again, reaching pre-memorandum levels. Hospitals constitute the “major patient,” with their debts, according to latest available data, exceeding €1.7 billion and the country having been condemned by the European Court for delays in supplier payments. To address the chronic problem affecting market liquidity, a special committee has undertaken to analyze the problem and identify real causes of delays while in cooperation with the General Secretariat of Information Systems, a new digital platform was created for electronic invoice submission from private parties to public entities.
Statistical analysis of data and processing is expected to be completed in the coming period and for the first time there will be a complete and documented picture regarding:
– Which entities have overdue obligations, namely debts for periods exceeding 90 days.
– The amount of their debts.
– The reasons why payments are delayed, despite required funds existing and already being recorded in public debt.
Entities proven non-compliant will be under increased supervision, while their relevant data will be published regularly.
According to latest data from the State General Accounting Office, in October 2025 state debts reached €3.1 billion with public hospital debts amounting to €1.74 billion. Social Security Organizations owe private parties €590 million, EOPYY €248 million, Local Government Organizations €239 million and Public Law Legal Entities €236 million.
On the pensions front, the situation appears improved as delays in main pensions no longer exceed 60 days and award processing has normalized. However, the issue of supplementary pensions remains open, which cannot be fully resolved until archives of all supplementary funds are digitized.
