The Greek government’s overdue payments to private creditors are coming under the scrutiny of a new digital platform called “Sinepeia,” as July data reveals that despite a reduction in overdue obligations, the Greek state still owes more than €3.2 billion to businesses, suppliers, taxpayers, and pensioners.
Read also: Greece’s public sector debts fell in June, but the state still owes over €3.55 billion
With hospitals remaining the largest single debtor, Greece’s economic leadership is working to gain — for the first time — a detailed picture of which public bodies are experiencing the most serious payment delays before the end of the year. The new platform will provide comprehensive data on invoices that have been settled as well as those that have been languishing unpaid for extended periods. Public sector bodies that are consistently late with payments will also be placed on a formal blacklist.
Meanwhile, according to data from the General Accounting Office, the state’s overdue obligations fell by €118 million in a single month, dropping to €2.646 billion in July from €2.764 billion in June. However, when pending tax refunds totalling €629 million are factored in, the total amount the Greek state continues to owe rises to €3.275 billion.
A breakdown of the Greek state’s debts to private creditors in July reveals the following:
Hospitals: Public hospitals owe €1.235 billion to suppliers — a reduction of €70 million compared to June 2026, when debts stood at €1.305 billion. While this signals a continued gradual decline in recent months, the overall level of debt remains exceptionally high and continues to place significant financial pressure on businesses operating within the public healthcare system.
Social security funds: Debts owed by social security funds totalled €681 million, down €34 million from €715 million in June, with a substantial portion of outstanding obligations linked to pension awards. Although the e-EFKA social security authority has significantly accelerated its processes — reducing the average processing time for primary and supplementary pensions to approximately 40 days — cases involving overlapping or parallel insurance contributions, or participation in multiple supplementary pension funds, continue to require additional processing time.
Local authorities: Overdue obligations of local and regional government bodies stood at €326 million in July, down from €333 million in June. While the reduction is modest, it indicates that municipalities and regional authorities are continuing to make progress in clearing legacy debts.
Legal entities: Debts owed by public legal entities fell to €237 million, from €243 million in June.
Tax refunds
Pending tax refunds fell by €159 million in July, dropping to €629 million from €788 million in June. Of the total outstanding tax refund amount:
- €181 million relates to direct taxes, €320 million to indirect taxes, €121 million to non-tax revenues, and €6 million to other taxes.
- €254 million involves refunds that have been delayed for more than 90 days. Of this amount, €161 million has not yet been returned to eligible recipients due to missing documentation or inability to contact taxpayers. As a result, Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) is actively seeking thousands of citizens in order to complete the necessary procedures and issue the payments they are owed.
- €375 million has been pending for less than 90 days.
