National Economy and Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis is visiting Brussels to attend the Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings taking place on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. The national escape clause for defence spending is expected to be in the spotlight.
During Monday's Eurogroup, the euro area finance minister will also elect a new Eurogroup president, in addition to discussing fiscal policy coordination, assessing the international role of the euro and a further progress in capital markets and savings and investments union. Other items on the agenda are euro area enlargement and the digital euro.
Tuesday's ECOFIN meeting will be held under the Danish presidency for the first time. For Greece, the key issue is the adoption of the European Commission's recommendations on activating the national escape clause, which concerns 15 member-states. Greece was among the first member-states to request this, based on the European Council decision of March 6, 2025 and activation of the clause will allow an increase in defence-related spending by 500 million euros in 2026, further enhancing national defence and deterrent capacity at a time of great geopolitical instability.