Greece plans to speed up repayment of billions of euros in bailout loans, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at a Bloomberg event on Monday, in another sign of the country's economic turnaround.

Athens will seek to repay at least 5 billion euros in 2025, he said, with obligations maturing from 2033 to 2042. "We are focused on fiscal discipline," he told the event. "It is an indication of the confidence we have in our public finances," he added. Despite having the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the eurozone, Greece has achieved a significant recovery from its decade-long debt crisis. Greece's economy has outperformed the eurozone every year since the pandemic, which is expected to continue in 2025 and 2026. 

As Bloomberg comments, at the peak of the Greek debt crisis, unemployment in the country reached nearly 30%. It is estimated to fall to 10.5% in 2024 and to fall further to 8.5% in 2028. Despite the cost of living crisis, many taxes imposed or increased during the crisis were reduced or even abolished, while the minimum wage was raised to €830 per month from €650 in 2019.

It should be noted that this is not the first time that the country has repaid its debt obligations early. In December, it will complete repayment of €7.9 billion in bailout loans, known as the Greek Loan Facility. This will, however, be the first time Greece will repay part of its long-term debt.