Greece’s government convenes its first cabinet meeting of 2026 on Monday morning, as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis lays out priorities centered on housing, public administration reform, and key structural changes amid mounting public pressure over everyday governance issues.
The meeting, held at the prime minister’s office in Athens, follows Mitsotakis’ recent presentation of a government “roadmap” featuring 30 flagship reforms. It also comes against a backdrop of political criticism from the opposition, as the government seeks to demonstrate speed, efficiency, and tangible results at the start of the year.
Focus on Daily Life and State Reform
At the core of the agenda are two broad policy pillars: social policy, with housing at the forefront, and structural reforms aimed at making the state more efficient and citizen-friendly.
On public administration, the government is expected to approve two major initiatives. One, presented by the vice president of the government, targets simplifying interactions between citizens and public services by reducing paperwork and replacing hard-to-obtain certificates with streamlined declarations. The plan also allows certified professionals to handle certain procedures to cut delays.
A second proposal, introduced by the interior minister and a deputy minister, focuses on overhauling the system for selecting approximately 25,000 senior managers across the public sector, with the stated goal of faster, more transparent, and merit-based appointments.
Housing Tops the Social Agenda
Housing policy is described by government officials as one of the administration’s most urgent challenges, particularly in major urban areas. The cabinet is reviewing a package of legislative initiatives presented by the economy minister and the minister for social cohesion.
Planned measures for 2026 include renovation programs targeting vacant older homes, rental support for teachers, doctors, and nurses regardless of income, and the conversion of public buildings in remote and island regions into housing for civil servants. Additional steps include new limits on short-term rentals, incentives for private investment, and zoning changes to speed up the conversion of existing properties into residential use.
The government also plans to begin procedures to redevelop three inactive military sites into roughly 1,300 housing units and to launch the first phase of a social housing scheme using 10 state-owned properties.
Energy, Digital Services, and Health
The cabinet agenda also includes proposals on renewable energy, digital governance, and health policy. The environment and energy ministry is set to introduce reforms aligning national rules with European directives to accelerate investment in renewable energy.
Economic officials are presenting legislation related to new European climate and modernization funds, while the digital governance ministry is outlining plans for a unified digital infrastructure aimed at improving services for citizens and businesses. In the health sector, the government is proposing the creation of a pharmaceutical innovation fund.
As the first cabinet meeting of the year, Monday’s session is expected to set the tone for 2026, with the government seeking to show momentum on reforms that directly affect citizens’ daily lives while advancing longer-term structural changes.
