Private debt: Markopoulos announces withdrawal of Article 23
The deputy minister’s official statement changes the government’s position on the disputed provision. The bill remains at committee stage.
Updated 30.10.2026 · 19:12, Athens time — What changed
Deputy National Economy and Finance Minister Dimitris Markopoulos announced the withdrawal of Article 23 from the private-debt bill in his statement to Parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee, published by the ministry on 30 October 2026 at 18:44 Athens time.
The explicit withdrawal announcement marks a substantive change from the government’s earlier defence of the provision. The dispute concerned the enforceability of restructuring agreements with loan servicers and protection for debtors, guarantors and co-debtors; PASOK had called for its removal.
What is verified at this stage
The official text confirms the responsible deputy minister’s withdrawal announcement during committee discussion. Parliament’s record still places the bill at committee-processing stage, with a further related meeting listed for 3 November at 10:00. That entry establishes scheduling, not the outcome of the future meeting.
No final enacted text or Gazette publication has been established here. The descriptions of Article 23 below form the history of the disputed proposal before today’s announcement and should not be read as rules currently in force.
Markopoulos sought support for the remaining provisions and defended the proposed borrower measures. His assessments and criticism of the opposition are political positions; they do not replace examination of the final legislative text.
Previous updates — history
Updated 30.10.2026 · 17:05, Athens time — What changed
Political debate on 30 October 2026 focused on article 23 of the borrowers and loan-servicers bill. Parliament’s official record lists committee scrutiny dated 30 October and links meetings at 10:00 and 13:00. That record alone does not establish committee approval or passage.
What the published bill proposes
Article 23 would make a restructuring agreement an enforceable title. It permits termination when total overdue payments exceed the value of three instalments, reviving the claims while deducting sums already paid. Paragraph 4 addresses guarantors, co-debtors and security providers who signed the agreement, and objections by non-signatory third parties under its specific conditions. These remain proposed provisions.
Opposing positions
In his official address to PASOK’s Political Council, Nikos Androulakis called for article 23 to be withdrawn, arguing that it weakens borrowers’ position and prior judicial scrutiny. This is the party’s political assessment.
An ANA-MPA report published by ERTnews attributes the opposing response to economy and finance ministry sources: they argue that the provision requires agreement between debtor and creditor and preserves judicial review of enforcement. This is a response attributed to ministry sources, not an independent legal determination.
The dispute concerns the consequences of the proposed enforceability and the adequacy of safeguards. Today’s update does not establish passage, Gazette publication or opening of the 120-instalment scheme discussed in the article history.
Previous updates — history
Updated 29.10.2026 · 11:10, Athens time — What changed
The official record for the bill covering servicers, debtors and crypto-assets now lists the stage as Committee Processing, dated 29 October 2026. The responsible body is the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, and the record links to a meeting dated 29 October at 10:00. The submission date remains 26 October.
This change documents a new parliamentary stage. It does not prove completion of debate, committee approval, plenary passage, Gazette publication or commencement. The terms in articles 35–36 for up to 120 instalments remain proposals in the submitted text, analysed in the preceding update. No active application platform is announced here.
Previous updates — history
Updated 29.10.2026 · 06:13, Athens time — What changed
Articles 35 and 36 of the submitted bill propose extending repayment to up to 120 monthly instalments for tax and social-insurance debts. This is the text filed on 26 October, examined here in greater detail, rather than a new passage into law or the opening of an application platform.
Which debts the proposal covers
For the tax administration, Article 35 concerns assessed debts that became overdue by 31 December 2024. For social-insurance bodies, Article 36 concerns debts relating to periods up to the same date.
In both parts, the text generally requires that debts were not in a repayment arrangement on 30 September 2026 and have not entered one before the application. It also provides a specific option to transfer from an active arrangement of up to 72 instalments under Law 5313/2026. Additional conditions concern settlement of other debts; the tax arrangement also includes requirements on filing returns and final convictions for tax evasion or smuggling.
Different first-payment deadlines
The proposed application deadline is 30 June 2027 and the minimum monthly instalment is €30. For tax debts, the first instalment would be due within three working days of the application. For social-insurance debts, it would be due by the last working day of the application month. The three-day deadline therefore cannot be applied to both parts.
Parliament's bill card still records the stage as submitted, with an Economic Affairs Committee meeting scheduled for today, 29 October, at 10:00. Filing and scheduling a meeting do not establish passage, Gazette publication or commencement. The dates and conditions above describe provisions in the draft, subject to the final legislative process.
Previous updates — history
Updated 27.10.2026 · 13:17, Athens time — What changed
A meeting of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs is scheduled for Thursday 29 October 2026 at 10:00 in the Senate Hall, to process and examine the bill on servicers, borrowers and cryptoassets.
The official agenda names Eleftherios Avgenakis and Eleni–Maria (Milena) Apostolaki as rapporteurs. The bill record continues to show “Submitted”, dated 26 October 2026.
The new development is the meeting schedule. It does not establish that debate has already taken place, that the committee has approved the text, or that a law has been passed and entered into force.
Earlier updates — history
Updated 27.10.2026 · 02:02, Athens time — What changed
The Ministry of National Economy and Finance bill on servicers, borrowers and cryptoassets was submitted to Parliament on 26 October 2026. Its official record shows the processing stage as “Submitted” and assigns it to the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs.
This is a new parliamentary stage following the public consultation previously covered in this article. The record provides the submitted text and regulatory-impact assessment. Its scope includes loan and credit claims supervision, protection of compliant borrowers, cryptoasset taxation and supervision, general-government accounting reform and financial-sector provisions.
Submission does not mean commencement
The record establishes submission of a government bill, rather than passage, Gazette publication or commencement of the proposed provisions. Assignment to a committee does not constitute committee approval.
Parliament also notes that the photocopied bill is not the final text because spelling and syntactic corrections remain pending. Earlier percentages and deadlines follow as consultation history; they are not presented as obligations already in force. Implementation depends on the final legislative text and its commencement provisions.
Earlier updates — history
A wide-ranging draft bill from Greece's Ministry of National Economy and Finance on private debt, supervision of loan servicers and crypto-asset taxation is open for public consultation until 10:00 on Thursday, 22 October 2026.
Procedural stage: this is a draft under consultation. Its provisions are not in force and may change before or during parliamentary scrutiny. The ministry says it aims to submit and pass the bill in the first week of November, but that is not a binding timetable.
Proposed debt-workout deadlines
The draft would create a standard bilateral workout procedure. A creditor would have to respond within three months and the process would have to finish within six months. Three months before an auction, the creditor would have to submit a written, reasoned workout proposal, while any advance payment could not exceed 15%.
Debtors would be able to request a full statement of their debt free of charge. The draft allows 45 days for the information to be supplied and would suspend interest accrual if the deadline is missed.
Protection of an active workout
While an active arrangement is being observed, the draft would prohibit its termination, payment-order proceedings, seizure and continuation of an auction. A breach would make the act void, credit five instalments to the debtor, extend the arrangement by five months without extra cost and expose the firm to administrative fines of €50,000 to €500,000.
Servicer supervision
If enacted, credit-servicing companies would have to publish annual information on finances, portfolios, management results and borrower complaints. The draft also provides for annual strategies to be filed with the Bank of Greece and independent reviews of securitisations backed by state guarantees.
Proposed crypto taxation
For individuals, the draft proposes a 10% tax on gains from crypto-asset transfers, with gains of up to €500 per tax year exempt. Exchanging one crypto asset for another would not itself create a taxable gain. Returns from lending, liquidity provision and staking would be taxed as interest at 10%.
Other provisions
The text also covers the agricultural-fuel excise refund by 31 October, mandatory electronic payment for courier deliveries with exemptions to be set by ministerial decision, rules for fuel left at sealed filling stations and the new general-government accounting framework from 2027.
Interested parties need to assess the final text after consultation, submission to Parliament and any amendments. None of these proposals should currently be treated as an existing right or tax obligation.
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