Greece’s Minister of State Akis Skertsos pledged that every euro of the EU Recovery Fund allocated to Greece will be absorbed and said the government holds all the tools needed to press forward on affordable housing, in an interview with the Athens newspaper Apogevmatini.
Housing push
Skertsos said the National Strategy for affordable housing had been approved and that 19,750 homes were moving toward construction or renovation, with nearly 60,000 people set to benefit. He added that the plan includes more than 8,500 student dormitory places.
More than 24,000 households had already bought a home through the government’s Spiti mou 1 and 2 programs, he said, and the government now had all the tools to increase the supply of properties with affordable rents.
Recovery Fund and energy
On European funds, Skertsos said absorption of the Recovery and Resilience Facility would reach 100 percent. He cited a recent parliamentary statement by Papathanasiis as confirmation that not a single euro would be lost.
The minister also said Greece had become a net energy exporter in 2026 and was consistently among European countries with the lowest electricity prices, which he described as evidence of progress on the green transition.
Agenda 2030
Skertsos said New Democracy’s pre-election program, which he called Agenda 2030, was being coordinated by Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis. He framed the party’s governing record across three terms: the first as stabilization, the second as major reforms, and the third, which the party aspires to win, as the entry into a new era coinciding with the 200th anniversary of Greece’s recognized independence. He said the program’s three main priorities would be a more productive economy, a more modern state and a stronger international presence.
Asked whether reform momentum had faded, Skertsos rejected the criticism, pointing to the completion of Greece’s national land registry, a change in how agricultural subsidies are paid and a new judicial map that he said had already cut first-instance court ruling times by 50 percent.
Rule of law and corruption
On rule of law, Skertsos said a European Commission report placed Greece in the middle of the EU ranking with four recommendations, alongside Germany, Austria, Finland and Portugal. He also said an Economist democracy index placed Greece among 26 full democracies out of 167 countries.
Skertsos dismissed corruption criticism from former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, saying he found it amusing that Tsipras was presenting himself as a fierce anti-corruption fighter. He said the real measure was whether a leader took responsibility for their share of past failings.
Electoral outlook
On coalition building, Skertsos said New Democracy had no party with which it could cooperate, and said that was not the ruling party’s fault. Polls, he said, showed a clear lead for the governing side over opposition parties.
Asked about reports that former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras might form a new party, Skertsos said he could not know Samaras’s intentions, adding that democracy had room for everyone and that a proper assessment would only be possible once Samaras made his real intentions clear.
