Verschuldung: Griechenland will erneut frühzeitig Schulden tilgen

Athen, Greece is set to pay down debt again, this time in the amount of 13 billion euros by the end of the year, according to the newspaper Kathimerini. The plan includes repaying around 2.5 billion euros from the first Greece aid program of 2010, which was originally due to be repaid by 2041. An additional 2.2 billion euros will go towards paying off a short-term government bond, and the total number of short-term government bonds will be reduced by 1.2 billion euros by the end of the year, according to the newspaper citing the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

This will result in Greece saving around 360 million in interest per year. The government plans to continue accelerated debt repayment in the coming years. In June, Greece had already paid back 6.9 billion euros ahead of schedule, which were also loans from the first bailout program. Greece has been making accelerated repayments in recent years.

According to estimates by the Greek debt agency, the national debt is set to drop to 137 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year, potentially placing Greece at the bottom of the most indebted countries in the Eurozone by the end of the year. Italy is projected to have a debt-to-GDP ratio of 138.6 percent in 2026, as reported by the Italian broadcaster Rai News in May.