There is a distinct sense of déjà vu surrounding Thursday’s meeting of Greece’s Government Council for Economic Policy, known by its Greek acronym KYSOIP. Chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Maximos Mansion, the prime minister’s official office in Athens, the meeting is focused on two broad issues: the European Union’s long-term budget framework and the government’s plans to develop and modernize Greece’s major road, rail, energy and telecommunications networks.
The reason for the familiarity is straightforward. Roughly 14 months ago, on May 19, 2025, the same council met with essentially the same agenda.
At that meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, officials discussed the European Union’s next Multiannual Financial Framework, covering the 2028-2034 period, alongside Greece’s plans for its major transport, energy and telecommunications infrastructure.
Fourteen months later, the government is returning to the same two policy areas, raising an obvious question: Is Wednesday’s meeting intended to review progress and update decisions made last year, or is Athens once again revisiting plans that have yet to move decisively from strategy to execution?
When the council met in May 2025, discussions over the EU’s 2028-2034 budget and Greece’s national strategy for regional and local development focused heavily on the shifting priorities in Brussels. Greek officials assessed which areas were likely to command a larger share of European attention and funding in the next budget cycle, with competitiveness and defense among the priorities expected to gain prominence.
On infrastructure, the government’s assessment at the time was broadly positive. Officials presented timetables for a series of major projects and indicated that implementation was progressing satisfactorily. Under those schedules, several projects should, by July 2026, either have been completed or be approaching their final stages.
That makes the central issue at Wednesday’s meeting less about restating Greece’s list of infrastructure projects or repeating the government’s strategic priorities. The more consequential question is what has actually been delivered.
Fourteen months after the previous meeting, the government now has an opportunity to provide a clear accounting: which projects have been completed, which remain on schedule, which have been delayed and why, and what new decisions—if any—distinguish the current plan from the one presented in May 2025.
