Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis highlighted the New Democracy government’s achievement in helping bring about the signing of a collective labour agreement by the social partners during an event in Brussels entitled “Greece’s National Social Agreement: A European Model for Social Dialogue”.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of trust, which, he said, “is built by honouring commitments and delivering results”, questioned “how many people in this city were speaking positively about Greece ten years ago”, and expressed his satisfaction that Greece “has now become a source of inspiration”.

Listing the government’s labour market reforms, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: “We wanted better protection of workers’ rights, and one of the most important reforms was the digital work card. But there was a gap when it came to collective labour agreements. I was initially sceptical. The social partners sat in the same room and reached a landmark agreement that was signed by the social partners.”

As he noted, “it is interesting to see the progress achieved since then, because the sectors that have signed such agreements have seen higher wages.”

“I am pleased that employers understand that their success is linked to the happiness of their employees,” Mr Mitsotakis added.

“No one would have expected such an agreement to be signed by a centre-right government. We succeeded in achieving an agreement that benefits employers but, above all, workers,” the Prime Minister said.

At the same time, he emphasised that “trust is built by honouring commitments and delivering results”.

“Ten years ago, how many people were speaking positively about Greece? Yet now we have implemented significant reforms, with an economy that generates sustainable fiscal surpluses, and we are reducing debt in order to help the most vulnerable cope with inflation,” the Prime Minister said, concluding:

“I hope Greece’s story can serve as an inspiration, and if you would like advice on how to manage sensitive personalities in a room, you can always ask us.”

Earlier in the event, the Minister of Labour referred to the major labour market reforms of the past seven years, including a 10% reduction in unemployment and rising wages, noting that “we had a gap when it came to ensuring that as many workers as possible were covered by collective labour agreements”.

She also referred to a conversation she had with Kyriakos Mitsotakis before negotiations on collective labour agreements began, during which the Prime Minister asked her, “What are our chances of success?” and she replied that “based on logic, they were close to 0%, but I had a feeling that the conditions were there”.

“We went through seven months of extensive discussions. I set one condition: that everything be conducted under strict confidentiality. I believe there were three factors that led to the agreement:

• There was trust;
• Everyone wanted a solution and was willing to seek consensus;
• We did not begin with preconditions,”

Niki Kerameus added.

According to the think tank “Friends of Europe”, which organised the event, “at a time when Europe is seeking to reconcile competitiveness with social justice, Greece took a significant and widely recognised historic step forward. In November 2025, the Greek government and all national social partners signed the National Social Agreement, a landmark tripartite agreement aimed at strengthening Collective Labour Agreements (CLAs) and renewing social dialogue in practice. The Agreement represents a decisive opportunity to strengthen labour protection in Greece, where, following the sovereign debt crisis, labour relations had been shaped by the constraints of the crisis era.”