This is no longer simply about another package of investment incentives. Nor is it another abstract discussion about innovation and the digital economy.
Deputy Development Minister Stavros Kalafatis is putting production, Artificial Intelligence, research, cybersecurity, defence technology and Brain Gain into a single equation — effectively outlining the model on which the government wants to build the next phase of Greece’s economic development.
And he framed the political objective clearly:
“Western Thessaloniki is becoming the spearhead of the new productive Greece — with measures and results, not wishful thinking.”
Behind that message lies a broader ambition: to move Greece toward an economic model with greater emphasis on production, technology, exports, innovation and high-value-added activity.
The new growth bet: Greece must develop more technology
The debate over Greece’s productive transformation is becoming increasingly important because the country faces two challenges simultaneously.
The first is to raise productivity, particularly among small and medium-sized businesses.
The second is to create sufficiently attractive, highly skilled jobs to retain young scientists, engineers and specialised professionals — and bring more Greek talent back from abroad.
Kalafatis linked the two directly.
Technology, in this strategy, is not treated as a separate sector of the economy. It is meant to penetrate manufacturing, SMEs, healthcare, defence and the broader productive base.
€150 million to bring AI into Greek SMEs
One of the most significant measures is a dedicated €150 million scheme under Greece’s Development Law, designed specifically to support the adoption of Artificial Intelligence by SMEs.
That distinction matters.
Much of the global debate over AI has focused on technology giants. In an economy such as Greece’s, however, the real productivity breakthrough will depend on whether new technologies reach smaller businesses.
The goal is practical: reduce costs, automate processes, improve productivity and help companies compete in international markets.
At the same time, the government is activating faster depreciation for machinery and equipment and enhanced tax deductions for Research and Development expenditure, ranging from 200% to 315%.
There is also a clear regional dimension.
According to Kalafatis, more than 50% of Development Law support is being directed to Northern Greece.
The message is that Thessaloniki and the wider region should not merely follow Greece’s technological transition. They should capture a significant share of it.
Western Thessaloniki moves to the front line
This is where Western Thessaloniki fits into the broader strategy.
For Kalafatis, the area has the ingredients to become one of the laboratories of Greece’s new growth model: a strong industrial and logistics base combined with universities, research institutions and an expanding innovation ecosystem.
The new Special Spatial Framework for Industry and the Supply Chain seeks to address longstanding problems surrounding informal industrial concentrations while strengthening organised business parks.
The logic is straightforward.
Investment requires land, infrastructure, networks and clear rules.
But transforming investment into sustainable growth also requires people and knowledge.
From Brain Drain to Brain Gain
Kalafatis therefore tied productive transformation directly to the Brain Gain agenda.
EKETA, NOESIS, the Thessaloniki Innovation Zone and Elevate Greece are expected to strengthen the bridge between scientific research and private enterprise, helping new investment generate more highly skilled jobs.
And the deputy minister deliberately brought the discussion down to neighbourhood level, referring to Evosmos, Stavroupoli, Polichni and Neapoli.
The political objective is important: innovation should not remain confined to research laboratories and startup communities. It must eventually produce jobs, incomes and opportunities in the communities surrounding them.
“Infrastructure is the arteries – Knowledge is the blood”
Kalafatis offered one of his strongest political formulations when linking Thessaloniki’s major infrastructure projects to the productive economy.
“The major infrastructure projects of the ‘Thessaloniki 2030’ Master Plan — the Metro, FlyOver, road and rail connections — are the arteries of the city. Knowledge and innovation are the blood flowing through those arteries so that we can create wealth for everyone. This is the modern Patriotism of Action.”
The phrase captures the broader philosophy.
Major public infrastructure creates the conditions for development. But its full economic return comes only when businesses, investment, technology and skilled employment grow around it.
The Lockheed Martin move: Thessaloniki enters the cyber-defence equation
The strategy takes on an additional dimension with the cooperation between EKETA and Lockheed Martin.
Kalafatis highlighted the prospects opened by the partnership with the US aerospace and defence group.
“We are joining forces with aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, launching an innovative STEM programme in cyber-physical infrastructure and a cyber range based in Thessaloniki, for the training of technicians, Armed Forces personnel and researchers.”
But the most consequential part of his statement went further:
“Our cooperation with Lockheed Martin, implemented through EKETA, is not limited to training and the use of systems, but opens the way for the future co-development of advanced cybersecurity technologies and defence systems.”
That distinction could prove critical.
If the partnership evolves toward actual co-development, Greece would be moving beyond the role of a technology customer toward participation in the creation of advanced technological capabilities.
And that is central to any serious strategy for greater technological and strategic autonomy.
From buying technology to developing it
Defence and civilian innovation are increasingly converging.
Cybersecurity, drones, satellite systems, robotics and Artificial Intelligence have blurred the traditional boundary between civilian and military technologies.
Kalafatis placed that transformation directly within the national security debate.
“Our era is not characterised by a linear transition from peace to war, but by the permanent presence of hybrid and emerging threats, in which technology and information are weaponised.”
That is why cooperation between research centres and the defence ecosystem now carries broader significance.
Through strategic partnerships, including memoranda between the Hellenic Centre for Defence Innovation and leading Greek research institutions, domestic expertise in satellite monitoring, robotics and information technology can increasingly contribute to national resilience and defence capabilities.
More than €300 million for Greece’s research centres
Technological autonomy, however, requires a strong domestic research base.
Kalafatis put a concrete figure on that effort:
“We are strengthening public research centres for the next 30 years by investing more than €300 million from the Recovery Fund.”
The objective goes beyond upgrading laboratories.
Research institutions are increasingly expected to generate know-how that moves into companies, creates intellectual property and produces economic value inside Greece.
This is also where dual-use technologies become strategically important.
Through Elevate Greece, Deep Tech startups developing technologies with both civilian and defence applications can become part of a wider domestic innovation ecosystem.
Cybersecurity becomes a pillar of national resilience
Cybersecurity is another central element of the strategy.
“In the 21st century, our country’s national resilience and protection are inseparably linked to our technological superiority and the utilisation of research excellence,” Kalafatis said.
He also highlighted the Security by Design approach:
“Within the framework of the National Cybersecurity Strategy, we are incorporating the philosophy of ‘Security by Design’ into every new infrastructure and innovation.”
The shift is fundamental.
Cybersecurity can no longer be treated as something added after a digital system or critical infrastructure has been built. Protection must be embedded from the design stage.
In an environment of persistent hybrid threats, digital resilience is no longer merely a corporate concern. It is increasingly part of national security.
From €300,000 to €40,000: when innovation reaches the patient
Kalafatis also used an example from healthcare to demonstrate what he sees as the social return of technological investment.
At the new Gene Therapy Centre at Thessaloniki’s Papanikolaou Hospital, he said scientific research can reduce the cost of a specialised cancer treatment from around €300,000 to €40,000 per patient.
“This is innovation with a tangible social impact,” he said.
The example encapsulates the model being promoted: research that does not end with a scientific publication but is translated into technology, lower costs and better services for citizens.
The political bet: from “Made in Greece” to “Developed in Greece”
This is where Kalafatis’ intervention acquires its broader political significance.
For years, the debate over Greece’s productive reconstruction focused largely on how much more the country could manufacture and export.
The next challenge is more demanding: how much of the technology behind that production can also be developed in Greece.
AI adoption by SMEs, Deep Tech startups, dual-use innovation, links between research institutions and the defence industry, and the EKETA–Lockheed Martin partnership all point toward that objective.
Not merely Made in Greece.
Increasingly, Developed in Greece.
If successful, such a shift would affect much more than headline GDP growth. It could improve productivity, create higher-paying jobs, strengthen exports, retain scientific talent and give the country greater control over critical technologies.
Kalafatis: “Thessaloniki is not following developments – It is shaping them”
For the deputy development minister, Thessaloniki can become one of the principal hubs of this transformation.
“At the Hellenic Growth Agora, we demonstrate that Thessaloniki and Northern Greece do not simply follow developments — they shape them.”
He added:
“By bringing together the state, universities, research centres and businesses, we are building a Thessaloniki that innovates and creates real ‘Value for the Future’ for all citizens.”
The equation presented by Kalafatis is ambitious but concrete:
€150 million for AI in SMEs, more than €300 million for research centres, a major share of Development Law support directed to Northern Greece, Deep Tech, cybersecurity, defence technology and Brain Gain.
The real test will now be whether those tools translate into higher productivity, exports and well-paid jobs.
Because that is where the transformation of Greece’s growth model will ultimately be judged: not by promises, but by results.
Source: pagenews.gr