Insights

The Greek Council of State (the Court) has recently issued its first Decisions concerning environmental permitting of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), specifically stand-alone electrochemical storage stations using lithium-ion batteries. The Court upheld the contested environmental permits in full, confirming the lawfulness of the permitting framework applicable to BESS projects. This is a landmark development for the Greek energy storage market, as it provides judicial certainty for developers and investors in BESS projects.

The new Law 5299/2026 issued on 5 May 2026, in its Part A, aims to accelerate the energy transition by increasing the share of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in gross final energy consumption by 2030 and strengthening the gradual phase-out of fossil fuels. 

Following a two-year implementation period after entering into force, the Digital Operational Resilience Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 - DORA) became fully applicable in January 2025, setting a harmonized, directly applicable regulatory framework for digital operational resilience in the EU financial sector. A little over a year later, the focus is shifting from the definition of the regulatory framework to its implementation in practice.

Law 4903/2022 (the Law) introduced the institution of Unsolicited Proposals (USPs - πρότυπες προτάσεις) for infrastructure projects as an alternative to the traditional method of project inception and development into the Greek legal framework. The Law enables the private sector to take the initiative in identifying and developing an infrastructure project, thereby complementing State planning with a view to accelerating the development, tendering and implementation of infrastructure works. 

The Ministry of National Economy and Finance has submitted a draft bill for public consultation, entitled 'Administrative Cooperation in the Field of Taxation – Transposition of Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226 of 17 October 2023, and Council Directive EU 2025/872 of 14 April 2025 Amending Directive 2011/16/EU on Administrative Cooperation in the Field of Taxation, and Other Provisions'.

Following Ministerial Decision 8934/2026 published on 27 March 2026, the statutory minimum salary and daily wage in Greece will be increased for employees and workers as of 1 April 2026. 

Greek Law 5094/2024 (the New Law), entitled ’Strengthening of the Public University – Framework for the Operation of Non-Profit Branches of Foreign Universities‘, for the first time introduced a comprehensive legal framework for the establishment and operation of branches of foreign higher education institutions in Greece in the form of University Legal Entities (ULE) (Νομικά Πρόσωπα Πανεπιστημιακής Εκπαίδευσης – Ν.Π.Π.Ε.).  The New Law sets out the legal nature, governance structure, licensing procedure, academic organization and supervisory framework applicable to ULEs. 

Article 18 of Law 5219/2025 provides an exemption for legal persons and legal entities that hold real rights of full ownership, bare ownership or usufruct over real estate located in Greece from the payment of the Special Real Estate Tax (SRET) of 15% on the value of the property.