GREECE
Macro/Political:
- Former Prime Minister and member of the New Democracy Antonis Samaras is reportedly moving towards launching a new political party in September, amid indications that PM Mitsotakis intend to keep national elections on schedule for the end of the government four years term. Supporters of the planned party believe that recent polling trends favour an earlier launch. A Pulse survey for Skai found that the share of respondents who said they would vote for Samaras party rose to 5% in July from 3% a month earlier, while another 8% said they would probably support it. Backers argue that if the party approaches double-digit support following its formal launch, it could significantly reshape the political landscape and ease concerns among potential parliamentary candidates.
Source: Kathimerini
- The trade balance in June 2026 presented a deficit of EUR 2,615.8mn compared to a deficit of EUR 3,194.6mn in June 2025, recording a drop of 18.1%. The total value of imports amounted to EUR 7,616.1mn (+6.5% y-o-y) while the total value of exports was EUR 5,000.3mn (+26.3% y-o-y). The deficit of the trade balance, for the 6-month period from January to June 2026 amounted to EUR 16,040.6 mn in comparison with EUR 16,889.5 mn for the corresponding period of the year 2026, recording a drop of 5%.
Source: ELSTAT
CYPRUS
Macro/Political:
- Scope maintained Cyprus’ credit rating at A with a stable outlook. According to the agency, Cyprus maintains a robust fiscal consolidation track record, supported by recurring, though declining, fiscal surpluses and a marked reduction in the debt-to-GDP ratio. However, the conflict in the Middle East is expected to soften economic growth in 2026, but strong fundamentals are likely to continue to support medium-term growth, with private demand expected to remain resilient, supported by a strong labour market. Furthermore, the agency added that the steady decline in the private sector’s financial liabilities, sound profitability and improved loan loss absorption capacity further reinforce the resilience of the sector. Finally, the agency added that rating challenges include the small, open and externally dependent economy, which is relatively more vulnerable to shocks due to its high dependence on foreign workers, oil imports and external demand; an external position characterised by large imbalances, reflecting large import needs, moderate savings and high repatriation of profits by foreign-owned companies and high levels of legacy NPLs outside the banking sector, which constrain credit growth.
Source: Scope
