12 October 2026 in news

Spyros Theodoropoulos at SEV’s General Assembly: “The next decade must be a period of ambition for Greece”

  • “The next, necessary step is to increase productivity”
  • “An urgent need to accelerate investment despite the end of the Recovery Fund”
  • “The Prime Minister’s announcements on energy show that systematic dialogue can lead to decisions that address critical problems”
  • “It is up to us whether developments will determine our fate or whether we will seek to secure a stronger position in the new world that is emerging.”

With the central message “A productive Greece in a changing Europe” #SEV4Productivity, the Public Event of SEV’s Annual General Assembly took place today, Tuesday, 6 October 2026, at the Athens Concert Hall. The President of the Hellenic Republic honoured the event with his presence.

The event was addressed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while the Chairman of SEV’s Board of Directors, Spyros Theodoropoulos, presented the business community’s positions and proposals for strengthening investment, productivity and the competitiveness of the Greek economy, in an international and European environment marked by heightened uncertainty.

The event’s main guest was François Villeroy de Galhau, Honorary Governor of the Banque de France, who spoke with journalist Babis Papadimitriou. As he noted: “The Greek example offers other European countries a lesson in courage and hope. Reforms, however painful, can deliver results within the euro area and lead to positive economic outcomes. I witnessed this success first-hand during the eleven years I served on the ECB’s Governing Council.”

At the opening of the event, SEV honoured the Sivitanidios Public School of Arts and Vocations, which in 2027 will mark 100 years of operation and contribution to technical and vocational education.

A special video entitled “100 Years of Sivitanidios School – From Hand to Hand” presented the School’s longstanding connection with Greek production and SEV, dating back to its early years. A central figure was Andreas Hatzikyriakos, then Chairman of SEV and also President of the Sivitanidios School’s Executive Committee, who linked technical education not only to the needs of industry, but also to the country’s economic progress and improvements in workers’ lives. Rania Aikaterinari, President of SEV’s Executive Committee and Vice President of its Board of Directors, also referred to a lesser-known aspect of the School’s history: the construction of the benches in the Parliament’s plenary chamber by Sivitanidios students approximately nine decades ago. As she noted, despite major changes in occupations and technology, the need to equip people with the knowledge and skills required to participate constructively in the changes of each era remains constant.

In his speech, SEV’s Chairman stressed that this year’s General Assembly is taking place at a time of intense global uncertainty and significantly reduced predictability. He referred to geopolitical upheavals, US tariff policy, the pressure exerted by China’s export policy on European industry, energy price volatility, supply chain disruptions and the increased cost of financing.

With particular reference to Europe, he highlighted the growing pressures on its budget for the next seven-year period, as it is called upon to fund social and regional cohesion, agriculture, the green and digital transitions, reindustrialisation and significantly increased defence spending simultaneously. He also warned of the weakening of Europe’s productive base and the risks of further deindustrialisation.

Under these conditions, Mr Theodoropoulos stressed that Greece is currently in a better position than many European countries. As he stated, the economy continues to grow at rates above the euro area average, unemployment has fallen below 8%, investment has exceeded 17% of GDP, and investment in research, development and software increased from €4.3 billion in 2020 to €6.9 billion in 2025. He also noted that fiscal stability, the decline in public debt, the restoration of the banking system’s financial health and significant reforms in recent years have strengthened the country’s credibility and business environment.

He made particular reference to the contribution of businesses and industry to this progress. As he stated, in the past five years alone, industry created 41,000 new direct jobs and now employs almost 500,000 people. It directly generates 13.1% of GDP, while its total contribution is estimated at 32% of the economy, and it accounts for 42% of business investment. He also stressed that exports of manufactured products more than doubled, from €18 billion in 2010 to €42 billion in 2025, while average pay in industry in 2025 was 32% higher than the economy-wide average.

The central theme of the speech by SEV’s Chairman was the need for the Greek economy to move into its next phase of growth by increasing productivity. As he noted, with unemployment now at low levels, further GDP growth cannot rely primarily on increased employment. He stressed that productivity per worker in Greece remains at 54% of the European average, while in industry it stands at 68%; at the same time, invested capital per worker is €94,000 in Greece compared with €217,000 in Europe.

For this reason, he described accelerating investment even after the end of the Recovery Fund as an “urgent need”. He also made particular reference to Artificial Intelligence, pointing out that it has currently been adopted by just 7.7% of Greek businesses, compared with 17% in Europe, and warning that, unless its adoption accelerates, it could become an additional factor causing Greece to lag behind in productivity.

At European level, Mr Theodoropoulos stressed that the green transition must proceed alongside the protection of competitiveness and European production. He emphasised the need to narrow Europe’s energy gap with the US and China, accelerate implementation of the Draghi Report’s proposals and establish permanent European mechanisms for a rapid response to major crises.

On energy costs, SEV’s Chairman described energy as a decisive cost factor for Greek industry as a whole and expressed SEV’s satisfaction, following systematic dialogue between the two sides, with the Government’s recognition of the need to support Greek production and with the use of the European METSAF and CISAF mechanisms. At the close of his speech, he notably stated that “the announcements on energy show that dialogue with the productive economy can lead to decisions that address critical problems”.

Referring to the Government’s target of €65 billion in investment by 2030 and an increase in manufacturing’s share of GDP to 12%, Mr Theodoropoulos presented a series of specific proposals. These included establishing a body to develop industrial sites, a new framework of incentives for strategic and flagship investments, replacing the criterion of creating new jobs in investment incentive legislation with that of significantly increasing productivity, stronger incentives for mergers, and extending the enhanced tax deductions available for Research and Development to investment in the implementation of Artificial Intelligence.

For small and medium-sized enterprises that experienced difficulties in the past but have now entered into repayment arrangements for, or settled, their overdue liabilities, he proposed creating a third category in TIRESIAS and removing those that have already settled their debts from its records more quickly.

“I have left the most important proposal until last. The human factor,” SEV’s Chairman stated, highlighting significant shortages of both specialised technical staff and unskilled workers.

In this context, he highlighted the need to strengthen technical education, drawing on the example of the Sivitanidios School, which had been honoured earlier in the event: “We need more schools with the characteristics of the Sivitanidios School and education that equips young people with qualifications endorsed by the market as well.” He also stressed the need for faster procedures for bringing in workers from abroad.

In closing, Mr Theodoropoulos linked the message of this year’s event to the goal he had set from the same podium a year earlier for a more productive Greece.

As he stated, in a changing world and a changing Europe, this goal becomes more difficult, but also more necessary: “It is our choice whether developments will determine our fate or whether we will claim a better position in the new world taking shape.”

He stressed that the coming period must be “a period of ambition”, with the aim of Greece having, over the next decade, more and larger productive businesses, a stronger industry, more exports and a more substantial presence in European production, technology, energy, defence and strategic value chains.

Finally, he called on businesses to continue investing despite the uncertain environment and stressed the importance of cooperation and dialogue between the State and the productive economy, concluding: “We believe we agree on a basic starting point, a fundamental conviction: that entrepreneurship, through the growth it generates, improves people’s lives.”

Watch the event here

Watch the “100 Years of Sivitanidios” video here

 

 

Sponsors of SEV’s Annual General Assembly

GOLD SPONSORS       

  • ALPHA BANK
  • ION S.A. Cocoa & Chocolate Manufacturers
  • JTI Hellas

SILVER SPONSORS   

  • AEGEAN
  • ELVALHALCOR S.A.
  • HELLENiQ ENERGY Holdings SA
  • MOTOR OIL (HELLAS) CORINTH REFINERIES S.A.
  • Olympia GROUP
  • Quest Holdings
  • TITAN Group

BRONZE SPONSORS

  • ELVIAL S.A.
  • EUROPA PROFIL ALUMINIUM S.A.
  • LOULIS FOOD INGREDIENTS
  • People for Business
  • PUBLIC POWER CORPORATION S.A.

SPONSORS

  • ACCENTURE
  • ATHENS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT S.A.
  • Big Pi Venture Capital Management S.A.
  • Coca-Cola HBC Greece S.A.I.C
  • COSMOTE TELEKOM
  • DIS – Dynamic Integrated Solutions
  • ELPEN S.A.
  • ĒNSOFI
  • GEK TERNA SOCIETE ANONYME HOLDINGS REAL ESTATE CONSTRUCTIONS
  • Goldair Cargo
  • HEDNO S.A. Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator S.A.
  • Hellas Gold
  • HELLENIC DUTY FREE SHOPS
  • HELLENIC HYPERMARKETS SKLAVENITIS S.A.
  • IMERYS Greece S.A.
  • MAPEI HELLAS
  • METLEN – Energy & Metals
  • MEVGAL S.A.
  • NN Hellas
  • PAPOUTSANIS SA
  • PEOPLECERT
  • PwC Greece
  • SAP Hellas Single-Member S.A.
  • YIOTIS S.A.