Greece today: inflation rises to 5.6%, the loan servicers bill reaches the plenary, and the Court of Audit's pension case

Inflation: Greece's harmonised rate rose to 5.6% in October 2026

Greek inflation on the EU's harmonised index (HICP) is estimated at 5.6% in October 2026, up from 5.1% in September, according to Eurostat's flash estimate published on 4 November 2026.⁴⁸ The euro area's rate is estimated at 4.0%, up from 3.8%, so the gap with the euro area widened to 1.6 points, by our calculation.⁴⁸ The flash gives only the headline rate for Greece, not what drove it; ELSTAT (ΕΛΣΤΑΤ, Elliniki Statistiki Archi), the national statistics office, publishes its October figures on 10 November 2026.⁴⁸⁴⁹ We explain it in full here.

Loan servicers bill: the plenary debate begins on 4 November 2026, with two new amendments

The bill on loan servicers, the firms that manage bad loans, goes to the plenary (Ολομέλεια, Olomeleia) of the Βουλή (Vouli), the Greek Parliament, on Wednesday 4 November 2026.³⁴ enikos.gr reports that the debate and vote are scheduled over two sittings, and none of our sources gives a date for the vote.³⁴

On 3 November 2026 Kyriakos Pierrakakis, head of the Υπουργείο Εθνικής Οικονομίας και Οικονομικών (Ypourgeio Ethnikis Oikonomias kai Oikonomikon), the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, announced two ministerial amendments in Parliament's Standing Committee on Economic Affairs.¹² The first would fix the interest rate at 3% a year, for the whole term, on restructurings in the out-of-court mechanism (εξωδικαστικός μηχανισμός, exodikastikos michanismos) for vulnerable debtors and for debtors classed as "eligible", on payments made from 1 December 2026, according to the ministry.¹² We have not seen the amendment text, so it is not yet clear whether borrowers already in an out-of-court restructuring would move to 3%.¹² The second amendment would raise the maximum fine that the Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος (Trapeza tis Ellados), the Bank of Greece, can impose on a servicer from €500,000 to €5m.¹² That ceiling is separate from the €50,000–€500,000 fine per borrower that article 15 of the bill sets for pursuing borrowers who keep paying.¹⁷

Article 23 of the tabled bill said that a restructuring contract agreed under the bill's new bilateral procedure "is an enforceable title" (our translation) for the whole debt.⁷ On 30 October 2026 Dimitris Markopoulos, Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, told the committee that article 23 was being withdrawn, Ethnos and LiFO reported.⁵⁶ None of this is law yet: the bill and the two amendments still have to be voted in the plenary.²³ We explain the bill in full in our updated explainer on the servicers bill.

Pensioners' solidarity contribution: the Court of Audit's pilot case was set for a hearing on 4 November 2026

The Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο (Elegktiko Synedrio), Greece's Court of Audit, has been asked in a pilot case whether the pensioners' solidarity contribution, ΕΑΣ (Εισφορά Αλληλεγγύης Συνταξιούχων, Eisfora Allilengyis Syntaxiouchon), may be charged at a single rate on a whole pension rather than only on the part above €1,400.⁸ The court's act setting the case frames the question as one for civil-service pensioners.⁸ The applicant is Nikolaos Angelaras, whom decision 255/2021 of the Special Court of Article 88(2) of the Constitution describes as an honorary President of the Court of Audit.⁹

The hearing before the Court of Audit's Plenary was set for Wednesday 4 November 2026, after adjournments on 10 June and 7 October 2026, according to CNN Greece and ERTnews.¹⁰¹¹ Whether the hearing of 4 November 2026 went ahead had not been reported when we published.¹⁰¹¹ in.gr reports that a ruling is expected in 2027, an expectation it attributes to legal circles.¹² We explain the question, and what a win could change, in our explainer on the Court of Audit case.

Digital delivery notes: ΑΑΔΕ's decision Α.1233/2026, and Phase B1 on 1 January 2027

ΑΑΔΕ (Ανεξάρτητη Αρχή Δημοσίων Εσόδων, Anexartiti Archi Dimosion Esodon), Greece's tax authority, published decision Α.1233/2026 in the Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ, Fyllo Efimeridas tis Kyverniseos) on 30 October 2026, rewriting the rules for the digital tracking of goods movements in myDATA, its digital platform.¹³ From 1 January 2027, under the separate joint decision Α.1198/2026, the loading, transshipment and receipt of goods and the results of the recipient's quantity check must also be transmitted to myDATA, a stage called Phase B1.¹⁴ Under Α.1233/2026, a recipient that finds surpluses or shortfalls in the quantity check transmits a type 10.1 quantity-receipt note.¹³ Compliance with updated myDATA technical specifications becomes mandatory 15 days after each update goes live, under the same decision.¹³

Phase B2, uniform item coding under the EU's Combined Nomenclature, starts on 1 January 2028, a date reported by News247 among others and set by Α.1198/2026.¹⁴¹⁵ We explain what businesses should do before 1 January 2027 in our explainer on Greece's digital delivery note.

What changed on the Golden Visa fund list? One fund's name, and nothing else

The Υπουργείο Ανάπτυξης (Ypourgeio Anaptyxis), the Ministry of Development, updated its official list of alternative investment funds for the Golden Visa fund route to the new name of the only fund on it, in decision 93181 of 2 November 2026.¹⁶ The decision was posted on Διαύγεια (Diavgeia), the government's transparency website, on 3 November 2026 under the posting number (ΑΔΑ) ΨΙ5Α46ΝΛΣΞ-ΘΑΤ.¹⁶ The list serves the residence permit under article 99 of law 5038/2023, the Migration Code (Κώδικας Μετανάστευσης, Kodikas Metanastefsis), which non-EU investors can obtain by buying units or shares worth at least €350,000 in an alternative investment fund set up in Greece or another EU country that invests exclusively in Greece.¹⁸¹⁹

The fund's name changed from DROMEUS GLOBAL REAL ESTATE FUND I RAIF V.C.I.C. PLC to DROMEUS GLOBAL REAL ASSETS OPPORTUNITIES FUND RAIF V.C.I.C. PLC, a change the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission approved on 16 July 2026.¹⁶ΕΛ The list still has one fund, with the same compartment, «COMPARTMENT A», and the same external manager, now written as Resolute Investment Management (Cyprus) Ltd.¹⁶¹⁷ No fund was added or removed, and the decision changes no investment threshold.¹⁶¹⁷ The decision says nothing about pending applications or existing permit holders.¹⁶

Ta Nea, Athlosnews and Insider.gr reported the decision within about half an hour of each other on 3 November 2026, in near-identical wording, so we treat them as one report.²⁰²¹²² The external manager, Resolute, and «COMPARTMENT A», which they also mention, were already on the March 2025 list, decision 25190 (ΑΔΑ 62ΣΥ46ΝΛΣΞ-1ΛΛ), by our comparison.^17202122 Under joint ministerial decision 216718/2025, if a fund is ever struck off the list, investors who obtained a permit through it stop meeting the condition of holding the investment; by our reading, a rename does not trigger that rule.¹⁹ For the separate property route and the latest Golden Visa figures, see our analysis of foreign investment in Greek property.

Bank of Greece: cash-desk transactions can now be booked online

The Bank of Greece has launched an online platform, «Ηλεκτρονικά Ραντεβού» (Ilektronika Rantevou, "Electronic Appointments"), according to the text of its announcement, which several outlets carried word for word on 3 November 2026.²⁵²³²⁶ Users book cash-desk transactions by choosing the branch, the service, the day and the time.²⁵²³²⁴ Capital.gr and Ta Nea report that appointments can be booked, changed or cancelled online, without a phone call.²³²⁶ The platform is at https://appointments.bankofgreece.gr/.²⁷²⁴

According to Taxheaven's full list, the platform covers buying and selling gold sovereigns and gold coins; selling gold bars or plates; commemorative and collector coins; buying and selling foreign banknotes; obtaining euro coins; exchanging coins for banknotes; exchanging banknotes for smaller denominations; obtaining new €5 and €10 notes; exchanging damaged banknotes; and cash transactions for the Greek State or public bodies.²⁴²³²⁶ None of the reports we read says whether booking is now mandatory for these transactions, or which branches take part.^23242526

Mitsotakis on Alpha 98.9: further Airbnb limits are "something we are examining"

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Alpha Radio 98.9 on Tuesday 3 November 2026 that further restrictions on Airbnb in areas under heavy pressure, such as his own city of Chania, are "something we are examining", according to Alfavita's transcript of the interview, in our translation.²⁸ΕΛ Beyond Chania, which he gave as an example, he named no areas and gave no timetable or method, HANIA.news and enikonomia.gr report.²⁹³⁰ He said a framework is already in place and that owners have incentives to switch from short-term to long-term letting.²⁸³⁰

On rent, Mr Mitsotakis said tenants will get back "a whole rent" at the end of November 2026, and described it as "essentially an 8% rent cut", according to Alfavita's transcript.²⁸³¹ By our calculation, one-twelfth of a year's rent is 8.3%.²⁸ Our rent refund guide explains who qualifies and how it is paid.

On pensions, Mr Mitsotakis said "these €400 are permanent", to be paid at the end of each year, and that the €400 applies to "all pensioners"; he gave no payment date or eligibility criteria in the interview.²⁸³¹ Our €400 guide explains the conditions in the bill, including age. He also said VAT on period products will fall from 24% to 13% from 2027, which is an announcement and not yet law.³⁰³²

Florina: a three-hour public-sector stoppage over heating costs on 4 November 2026, not a national one

ΑΔΕΔΥ (Ανώτατη Διοίκηση Ενώσεων Δημοσίων Υπαλλήλων, Anotati Dioikisi Enoseon Dimosion Ypallilon), the civil servants' confederation, has called a three-hour stoppage from 17:00 to 20:00 on Wednesday 4 November 2026 in public services, public-law bodies and local authorities of the Florina regional unit only.³³³⁴³⁵ Its Executive Committee decided the stoppage on 2 November 2026 at the request of its Florina branch, so that public employees can join a rally on heating needs in the area.³³³⁴³⁵ We found no national ΑΔΕΔΥ stoppage for 4 November 2026 on the confederation's news list.³³

The rally is at 17:00 on 4 November 2026 in Florina's central square.³⁶³⁷ The Εργατικό Κέντρο Φλώρινας (Ergatiko Kentro Florinas), the Florina Labour Centre of private-sector unions, has called its own three-hour stoppage from 16:00 to 19:00.³⁶³⁷ Among its demands is a permanent mechanism to refund or offset the extra tax that people in Western Macedonia pay because they use more heating.³⁶³⁷ Applications for the 2026–27 heating allowance close on myAADE on 4 December 2026 under joint ministerial decision Α.1230/2026.³⁸ Our heating allowance guide explains who qualifies and how much they get.

In brief

• Farm basic-payment advance: Farmers who filed the single aid application (ΕΑΕ, Eniaia Aitisi Enischysis) and requested a pasture allocation get the 2026 basic-support advance within the first ten days of November 2026, after a cross-check with the Κτηματολόγιο (Ktimatologio), the land registry, according to ΑΑΔΕ's announcement as reported by farm and news outlets.³⁹⁴⁰⁴² Farmers who applied, or apply, from 26 September to 10 November 2026 are due to get the advance by 30 November 2026, and applicants by 25 September who were not paid can submit corrections until 10 November 2026.^39404142 On Saturday 31 October 2026 ΑΑΔΕ paid €7,806,768.22 to 19,819 farmers who had applied by 25 September 2026, 70% of the support due.³⁹⁴⁰⁴² A separate deadline on 10 November 2026 applies to transfers of farm payment entitlements, which our entitlements guide covers.⁴³
• Adoptions: Greece recorded 378 adoption acts in 2025, against 301 in 2024, an increase of 25.6%, according to press reports of a release by ΕΛΣΤΑΤ (Ελληνική Στατιστική Αρχή, Elliniki Statistiki Archi), the statistics authority.⁴⁵⁴⁶⁴⁷ We could not extract the text of the release itself, so we give only the headline figures.⁴⁴