A special development law regime, amounting to 150 million euros, is being prepared by the Ministry of Development to support companies that will bring innovation and AI together in small and medium-sized enterprises.
This was stated by the Minister of Development Takis Theodorikakos, speaking in the context of the 9th Annual Economic Conference of E.ENE. on the topic “Europe & Greece 2030: A Different Taxation for Development”.
The minister said that within the framework of this special regime, a memorandum of cooperation was recently signed with the company Open AI, which concerns education, innovation and entrepreneurship, and there are already many applications for cooperation with start-ups since the beginning of 2026.
In addition, he spoke of a holistic plan that starts from supporting industry and manufacturing and continues in defense and technological innovation, which has been implemented in recent years in our country.
As he said, this is a plan for the transformation of the economy, with parallel support for Greek industry, as without strong production, there can be no sustainable development. The Development Law of the Ministry of Development, he emphasized, contributes in this direction, offering incentives for investment and the creation of new jobs. Particular emphasis has been given to recent programs for border regions, in order to keep the local productive base alive and encourage demographic revitalization.
In this context, he noted that the first two support schemes “Processing – Supply Chain” had a very high response, with the submission of 361 investment plans with a total budget of 1.5 billion euros, with the evaluation proceeding within 90 days.
Furthermore, he stated that the application program for large investments ends on December 31, while the programs for the agri-food sector follow. Subsequently, a program of 150 million euros for investments in the defense industry is “on the table”, since, as he stated, “our security needs must be combined with investments in our country”.
At the same time, upgrades are underway in the country’s industrial parks, while in recent months strategic investments of 2.5 billion euros have been approved in critical sectors such as the defense industry, shipbuilding, ship repair and the pharmaceutical industry, which contribute to the strengthening of Greek exports.
The Minister of Development made special mention of the critical issue of energy costs, as he stated that no industry can be competitive without affordable energy costs, adding that he has advocated the adoption of the Italian model, with investments in green energy.
He also spoke about the effort being made to strengthen extroversion, research and development, with 370 million euros being given to upgrade the logistical infrastructure of the country’s technological centers and institutes and the Thess Intec innovation park in Thessaloniki.
