ENGLISH SECTION
26/11/2025 | 16:58
Pierrakakis: A coherent strategy on the demographic problem was presented at TIF
“At the core of our policy is the removal of obstacles for families and young people,” stated National Economy and Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis on Wednesday, at the conference “ Demographics and Greece in 2040: Family, Economy, Modern Lifestyle,” organised by the newspaper “Eleftheros Typos”.
He began by noting the obvious fact that the demographic issue constitutes an existential challenge for Greece: “The truth is that there are some problems, issues, and challenges that we find difficult to grasp at the time and in the place where they unfold before us, precisely because of the mechanism by which they unfold. Whether it is the climate crisis, the debt crisis, the way that debt accumulates over time – with its consequences impacting us later – or the demographic issue, these problems unfold gradually but their effects are felt on the ground.
“One only needs to look at data from demographic projection studies to confirm that Greece is already facing this challenge. For the first time in the post-war period, the population has declined. More broadly, Europe as a whole is facing this challenge,” he pointed out, adding:
“The Prime Minister previously referred to the full range of our economic policy choices in relation to the demographic issue, and I think you observed that, for the first time at the Thessaloniki International Fair, a coherent strategy was presented with a unified philosophy placing the demographic issue at its core.
“Already this week we are implementing the measures announced by the economic team – and the government – on Easter Tuesday: the 250-euro support payment for pensioners, the refund of one month’s rent for 80% of tenants, and the measures announced at the TIF, which essentially constitute a tax reform targeting the demographic issue and the middle class, to be implemented starting in early January.
“Now, I will answer a question that I think is obvious to everyone: Does this tax reform solve the demographic problem? Absolutely not. No one could claim such a thing. But I believe it would be entirely paradoxical to not have a tax system that recognises this problem – this challenge – especially when it is being felt in real life. It was therefore necessary – this was the Prime Minister’s decision and the economic team’s recommendation – to implement a tax reform in Greece that acknowledges this existential challenge ahead of us. This is now being put into practice. We are presenting the full package of measures, the broader logic of this tax reform, also in other European countries, and we are seeing that it receives very positive feedback, precisely because more or less everyone is experiencing the same problem on different scales. We already see such measures applied in some countries-for example, preferential tax treatment for families in France – while in others this has not yet happened.
“We believe this is a measure that will have an impact, and we believe that the logic we are beginning to adopt in January is one we will continue. Precisely because the magnitude of the problem, the scale of the challenge, is extremely large.
“Having said that, of course one measure is not enough, nor is one tax reform. Much more needs to be done. It is important that a ministry has been created with this specific focus. It is important that a broader policy framework exists.
“I believe that, from the full range of strategies, policies, and decisions you have seen this government adopt in recent years, first, we know how to ask the right questions. Second, we know how to improve ourselves continually where needed and required. And third, we know very well what needs to be done to continue converging with the European average. Because, at the end of the day, in 2019, in terms of income measured by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), we were at 62% of the European average, and today we are at 70%.
“We have improved, but we are still not where we want – and are able – to be. And I assure you: we can get there.”
source ANA-MPA
