Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pieriakas Highlights Islands as Greece’s Economic Heart

On 30 July, Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pieriakas addressed an event in Rhodes organized by the four island regions and local chambers. He expressed sorrow over recent firefighter deaths in Crete and pledged support to residents battling wildfires, citing Rhodes’ rapid recovery as a model of coordinated action.

Pieriakas urged a shift in the discussion of island policy, emphasizing that the Greek islands are not merely peripheral but central to the nation’s economy. He noted their leading roles in tourism, shipping, agriculture, clean energy and the blue economy, and highlighted that the South Aegean alone accounts for 26.8 % of Greece’s overnight stays, while Crete and the Ionian Islands together with it generate over 60 % of total overnight tourism. He called for increased investment in water, energy, ports, airports, roads, digital networks and waste management to create jobs, retain young people and boost added‑value production on the islands.