Kyriakos Pierrakakis: The Greek Who Wants to Wake Up Europe Greek City Times
French magazineLe Pointhas published an extensive profile of Greek National Economy and Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis, under the headline“Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the Greek Who. . .
French magazineLe Pointhas published an extensive profile of Greek National Economy and Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis, under the headline“Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the Greek Who Wants to Wake Up Europe. ”Journalists Emmanuel Berretta and Alexia Kefala trace Pierrakakis’ political and personal journey, from the reforms he implemented in Greece to his election as president of the Eurogroup. The article focuses particularly on his priorities for Europe and his ambition to build a more integrated, competitive and dynamic European economy. Le Pointpresents Pierrakakis as a reformer whose political outlook draws heavily on figures such as former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi. From the brink of crisis to the Eurogroup presidencyPierrakakis grew up in Greece as the country approached the brink of economic collapse. On December 11, 2025, eurozone finance ministers elected him to lead the Eurogroup, a decade after Greece came close to leaving the single currency. The symbolism did not escape European officials. French Economy Minister Roland Lescure recalled that the same room had hosted decisions on Greece’s bailout programmes. Pierrakakis began a two-and-a-half-year term, succeeding Ireland’s Paschal Donohoe, who left to take up a position at the World Bank. He became the fifth permanent president of the Eurogroup and the first Greek to hold the position. Le Point describes his election as a powerful symbol for a country that once stood on the brink of bankruptcy. A Greek “revenge”The Eurogroup does not operate as a formal EU institution under the treaties, but it brings together the finance ministers of the 21 countries that use the euro following Bulgaria’s adoption of the currency on January 1. The group does not pass legislation. However, it plays a central role in building consensus on major economic decisions. As president, Pierrakakis sets the agenda, determines when issues are ready for discussion, plays an important role in major eurozone institutional appointments and represents the euro area at the IMF, World Bank and G7 finance ministers’ meetings. He also chairs the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism, the rescue mechanism created during the eurozone crisis that helped finance Greece. Le Point highlights the irony: a Greek finance minister now chairs the institution that holds a significant portion of Greece’s debt. The magazine contrasts this with the events of 2015, when Alexis Tsipras and his finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, brought Greece close to a potentially disastrous confrontation with its European partners. “Waking up” the EurogroupPierrakakis’ priorities have attracted attention well beyond Athens. Like Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta, he advocates a Europe without internal barriers, arguing that the 27 member states should move beyond national champions and create European champions capable of directing Europe’s vast savings towards innovation and better-paid jobs. Le Point portrays him as an unusually energetic figure in the traditionally restrained world of finance ministers, citing his forceful approach, vivid language, literary references and broad range of economic proposals. One of his main objectives involves completing the Capital Markets Union, an issue that Europe has debated since 2015. Europe saves more than the United States, the article notes, but it does not channel those savings into businesses as effectively. Pierrakakis also places banking integration on the agenda, despite the political sensitivity surrounding national banking systems. A single European telecom marketPierrakakis uses telecommunications as an example of what Europe can achieve when it operates on a larger scale. Nokia and Ericsson continue to compete with Huawei, each holding roughly a quarter of the global telecommunications equipment market. However, the European companies need access to a market large enough to support their global ambitions. Pierrakakis proposes holding one Europe-wide auction for 5G and 6G spectrum instead of 27 separate national auctions, alongside a single regulatory authority rather than numerous national regulators. He argues that spectrum-auction revenues could also strengthen the European budget. His approach, Le Point notes, goes beyond rhetoric. “During our term, the Athens Stock Exchange joined Euronext,” Pierrakakis says. He also points to UniCredit’s acquisition of almost 30% of Alpha Bank as another example. His preferred expression is “Show, don’t tell”, borrowing from William Faulkner. Bringing public services to a smartphonePierrakakis’ European profile builds on reforms he implemented in Greece. Le Point points to his seven years across three ministries, with each position involving a major institutional challenge. As Minister of Digital Governance from 2019 to 2023, Pierrakakis developed a state reform programme that he could implement from the beginning of his tenure. The result was Gov. gr, a unified online portal for public services. The platform launched in March 2020, shortly before the Covid-19 lockdown, with around 500 services. It now offers more than 2,250. While French citizens were filling out paper travel certificates during the lockdown, Greeks could obtain their equivalent through a simple SMS. The achievement involved legal reform as much as technology. The government created a framework that allowed public authorities to exchange data without automatically giving officials the right to read it. Pierrakakis also secured a legal veto over other ministries to prevent the endless chain of signatures that had paralysed the Greek state. “In Greece, you can now get a consensual divorce through a smartphone,” he jokes, noting how useful that can be when two people no longer want to see each other. Advice from a Harvard expertPierrakakis sought advice from Harvard specialist David Eaves, who now teaches in London. Eaves remembers him as an inventive politician with “unyielding determination”. He identifies the central lesson of the Greek experience as the creation of a unified infrastructure rather than isolated digital services, with central access to public data and the Estonian principle of asking citizens to provide information only once. The system helped reduce everyday petty corruption and saved citizens countless hours previously spent waiting in queues. Eaves also stresses that Greece achieved the transformation at exceptionally low cost. A country returning from the brinkPierrakakis became Finance Minister in March 2025. Le Point summarises his philosophy in three words: “Never again memoranda” and never again the humiliation associated with the troika. The figures he inherited reflect Greece’s economic recovery. Public debt peaked at close to 210% of GDP in 2020 and has since fallen to around 130%, following the early repayment of €6. 9 billion to Greece’s first European creditors. By the end of 2026, Greece could cease to have the highest debt burden in the eurozone, with Italy potentially taking its place. Unemployment, which approached 28% during the crisis, fell to 8. 2% at the end of 2025, its lowest level since 2008. Greece has also recorded primary budget surpluses every year since 2016, apart from the pandemic period. Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras, whose third term Pierrakakis proposed renewing in June, describes the minister as someone who studies his files meticulously, inspires confidence through his knowledge and also possesses a sense of humour. Stournaras contrasts Pierrakakis with Varoufakis and the confrontation of 2015. “Pierrakakis is the exact opposite,” he says. What should Greece do with its budget surplus?The central question for Pierrakakis now concerns the use of Greece’s growing tax revenues. “I don’t want the country to settle for stagnation. I want growth,” he says. Pierrakakis has described the government’s tax cuts as the largest reduction in taxes in Greek history. Demographics remain another longstanding priority. As head of the Dianeosis think tank in 2016, he warned that Greece risked becoming “the oldest country of the Old Continent”. A decade later, he has policy tools at his disposal, including tax differentiation based on the number of children, age and place of residence. He describes the reform as inspired by the French family model. A politician who thinks in algorithmsEuropean officials describe an unusual way of thinking shaped by computer science and mathematics. Le Pointrecounts the selection process for the European Central Bank vice-presidency following Luis de Guindos’ departure. Six candidates competed for the position, rather than the usual situation in which governments build consensus around a single candidate. Officials therefore needed a voting system that could manage multiple possibilities. The process remained strictly confidential, with only the candidates’ countries and the Eurogroup president knowing the results. After receiving the first-round results, Pierrakakis reportedly predicted which candidate would withdraw, how votes would shift and how subsequent rounds would develop. “It happened exactly like that,” a senior Council official recalls. A friend of FrancePierrakakis’ rise in Europe also benefited from support from France and Germany. During the contest for the Eurogroup presidency, Roland Lescure backed him against Belgian candidate Vincent Van Peteghem, who eventually withdrew. The relationship with France reflects shared priorities, according to Pierrakakis, including technological sovereignty, European defence and, above all, the Capital Markets Union. His ability to look beyond traditional political divisions has also earned support from the European Parliament. Aurore Lalucq, chair of the Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and a left-wing politician, praises his approach. “He thinks quickly. He doesn’t speak when he has nothing to say. Above all, he thinks about what we should do, not what we can do,” she says. The “Giant” from PatissiaLe Pointalso explores Pierrakakis’ personal background. At 1. 98 metres tall, he immediately stands out among those around him. Writer Christos Chomenidis, one of his closest friends, recalls being struck by his height when they first met. Pierrakakis attended the Leonteio Lykeio in Patissia, where he studied French for two hours each day. His father, a surgeon, had attended the same school, and today his eldest of three children studies there as well. A technology enthusiast from an early age, Pierrakakis dismantled his first computer at nine. His former Greek teacher, Amalia Skoura, now the school’s director, remembers him as the student most comfortable with technology. When her own internet connection failed, she would call him at home for help. At 22, Pierrakakis left for Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he completed postgraduate degrees in public policy at Harvard and technology at MIT. From Dune to ChurchillTwo science-fiction epics have influenced Pierrakakis’ thinking: Frank Herbert’sDuneand Isaac Asimov’sFoundation. The two works represent different approaches to history: one emphasises the power of individuals to change events, while the other examines the forces and structures that shape societies. Pierrakakis has chosen the side of individual agency. “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future,” he says, borrowing Tolkien’s words. He also points to Winston Churchill as an example of how one individual can alter history. At 29, before holding political office, Pierrakakis wrote about Robert Caro’s biography of Lyndon Johnson, his favourite author whom he considers “the Thucydides of the modern era”. He argued that Greece needed a leader prepared to get his hands dirty while attempting to reform what he called the dysfunctional machine of the Greek state. Fourteen years later, with the strong backing of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he has implemented reforms that once appeared almost impossible. The next testLe Pointnevertheless stresses that Greece’s challenges remain unresolved. Inflation reached around 5. 4% in the spring, while the minimum wage remains below €900 gross. Pierrakakis understands that the next Greek parliamentary election, expected next spring alongside France’s presidential election, will likely turn more on the cost of living than on primary budget surpluses. The agricultural subsidies scandal has also damaged the Mitsotakis government, leading to the resignation of four ministers on April 3. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office continues its investigations. The cinephile who thinks on a grand scaleAt 43, Pierrakakis combines his political career with a strong passion for cinema and literature. “Literature, cinema and politics have one thing in common. They tell stories,” he says. His personal cinematic pantheon begins with Stanley Kubrick, particularlyBarry Lyndon, followed by Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve. “Kubrick managed to create a masterpiece in every genre he tackled,” he says. Le Pointcloses its portrait with the suggestion that Pierrakakis’ own career has so far followed a similar pattern: a series of ambitious challenges, major reforms and increasingly influential positions — with the biggest test still ahead. Stay updated with the latest news from Greece and around the world ongreekcitytimes. com. Contact ournewsroomto share your updates, stories, photos, or videos. Follow GCT onGoogle NewsandApple News. Kosta PapadopoulosKosta Papadopoulos is an editor at Greek City Times, covering Greek and international news, travel, sport, and entertainment.