Natural disasters and protests marked 2025 in Greece. Illustration by Greek Reporter
In 2025, Greece finds itself at a historic crossroads. The nation is celebrating unprecedented diplomatic and economic victories on the European stage while simultaneously grappling with deep-seated social unrest, natural disasters, and legal battles that challenge the government’s narrative of stability.
Review of 2025 in Greece: Defining developments
Natural disasters: The Santorini seismic crisis and the Chios wildfire
Locals and tourists wait for the next ferry away from Santorini. Credit: AMNA/Orestis Panagiotou
Perhaps the most visceral challenge of 2025 was the persistent seismic activity that gripped the Aegean. Since early February, the island of Santorini and the surrounding Cyclades have been rocked by a relentless swarm of over 12,800 earthquakes.
While initially feared to be tectonic, scientific studies later revealed the cause was a 20-kilometer-long magmatic intrusion moving in “pulses” beneath the sea floor.
The quakes led to a state of emergency, the evacuation of over 11,000 residents and tourists, and the cancellation of the season’s first cruise ships. The sight of Santorini’s normally bustling clifftops standing “eerily empty” became a symbol of the country’s vulnerability to climate and geological shifts.
The “Chios Inferno” scorched approximately 6,200 hectares of forest and agricultural land. Credit: AMNA/Kostas Kourgias
In the summer of 2025, the island of Chios became the center of a harrowing environmental crisis as a series of devastating wildfires tore through its southern and northern regions.
Fueled by gale-force winds reaching 6 Beaufort and a punishing heatwave with temperatures exceeding 42°C, the “Chios Inferno” scorched approximately 6,200 hectares of forest and agricultural land.
While the island’s world-famous mastic trees—critical to the local economy—suffered only minor overall damage, the scale of the destruction and the speed of the fire’s spread, which sent smoke plumes traveling 500 kilometers across the Aegean, served as a stark reminder of the intensifying climate challenges facing the Mediterranean.
Greece 2025: The political landscape
Over the past year, the ruling New Democracy party has grappled with internal unrest and a volatile international climate.
While polling confirms its status as the dominant political force, the party has seen a sharp erosion of its base since the 2023 and 2024 elections. A combination of persistent price hikes, the public outcry over the Tempi disaster, corruption allegations at OPEKEPE (the agricultural payments agency), and widespread farmer strikes have come to define the government’s most challenging hurdles in 2025.
A panoramic view of the massive rally for Tempi in Athens. Credit: AMNA
February 2025 saw the Tempi tragedy return to the forefront of the national conversation, coinciding with ongoing debates over the upcoming presidential election.
While expert findings released during this time debunked extreme conspiracy theories, they simultaneously fueled public outrage and discontent. Massive rallies swept across Greece under the poignant slogan ‘I can’t breathe.’
Greek farmers demonstrated in Thessaloniki. Credit: Achilleas Chiras/AMNA
In late 2025, Greece was rocked by the most aggressive farmer protests in decades. Thousands of tractors blocked the Athens-Thessaloniki highway, and in Crete, protesters even breached airport runways.
The spark was a massive corruption scandal at OPEKEPE (the Greek agricultural subsidy agency), where investigations by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) revealed a €19.6 million fraud involving forged land documents. The subsequent delay in EU subsidies left 40,000 farmers in financial limbo.
Greece 2025: Europe’s New “Top Performer”
Economically, 2025 has been a year of “The Greek Comeback,” as the country transitioned from a “crisis state” to an influential policymaker.
Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis speaks with European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde. Credit: ANA-MPA/European Council/Francois Lenoir via AMNA
In a watershed moment for Greek diplomacy, Kyriakos Pierrakakis was elected President of the Eurogroup on December 11, 2025. His appointment is seen as a formal recognition of Greece’s fiscal discipline.
The economy grew by 2.1% with unemployment at its lowest level since 2009 (8.1%). The government achieved a primary surplus of 3.5% of GDP in 2024, significantly overperforming its original target of 2.1%. For 2025, it is on track for another strong surplus of 3.6%.
Debt-to-GDP Ratio: From a peak of over 200%, the ratio is expected to drop to 146.7% by the end of 2025 and is projected to fall below 140% by 2027.
Early Repayments: Greece has continued to make early repayments of its bailout loans, saving millions in interest and improving its standing with international investors.
However, a “cost of living crisis” persists. In mid-December, Parliament approved the 2026 budget amidst nationwide strikes and a “rent-pocalypse” in major cities, even as the minimum wage was set to rise to €950.
Energy & defense: The Mediterranean hub
US and Greek officials at the signing ceremony of the drilling agreement. Credit: AMNA
Greece has solidified its role as a regional energy gatekeeper and military power.
In November 2025, Greece signed a historic farm-in agreement, marking the country’s most significant return to offshore energy exploration in over four decades. The deal involves the American energy giant ExxonMobil taking a majority stake in “Block 2,” a prime maritime area located roughly 30 kilometers west of Corfu in the Ionian Sea.;
The Alexandroupolis FSRU is now fully operational, pumping LNG through the “Vertical Corridor” to the Balkans and Ukraine. Meanwhile, Kozani is transitioning into a “Green Hub” with Europe’s largest solar clusters.
The ceremony featured the naming of the vessel, Kimon, and the first hoisting of the Greek flag. Credit: Ministry of Defense
Greece is implementing a €25 billion strategic plan, including a multi-layered anti-drone “canopy” over the Aegean. The arrival of the first Belharra frigate (HS Kimon) in 2025 and the final Rafale jets have shifted the regional balance of power.
The Guilfoyle appointment
PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis meets Guilfoyle in Athens. Credit: AMNA/Orestis Panagiotou
On September 29, 2025, Kimberly Guilfoyle was sworn in as the 25th US Ambassador to Greece and arrived in Athens shortly afterward.
As a figure with deep ties to the Trump administration, her tenure marks a shift toward a more transactional, security-first relationship, focusing strictly on defense co-production and LNG exports.
Related: Greece’s Defense Evolution: The 2025 Strategic Review