Eurogroup chief urges Germany to emulate Greece's reform-driven recovery

Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis argued that Germany should draw lessons from Greece’s painful but successful reform programme after escaping a debt crisis a decade ago. He pointed out that Greece now posts primary budget surpluses and grows at roughly twice the Eurozone rate, while Germany faces record debt levels and modest growth. Although he described Germany as Europe’s industrial locomotive with solid fiscal fundamentals, Pierrakakis warned that higher interest rates are tightening fiscal space for all euro-area members.

He urged governments to channel public spending toward productivity-enhancing sectors such as energy, digitalisation and defence, and to attract private capital for investment. The Greek finance minister also stressed the need for cross-border bank consolidations to create European champions, noting Greece’s integration into larger European networks. He expressed confidence that Germany will implement the reforms demanded by its economy and the broader euro-area.