Greece's economy in danger? The neighboring country's grand plan failed

Greece failed in its "Trust Your Stars" program to bring scientists back to their homeland. The project, worth 80 million euros, was shelved in May 2026, ten months after it was effectively canceled, without updating the candidates. Research spending dropped to 1.27 billion euros (0.51% of GDP).

Greece failed in its grand program to bring senior scientists back to their homeland, a government project called "Trust Your Stars" worth 80 million euros, backed by the European Union's recovery fund. Out of 1,241 proposals submitted, 145 were selected, but the list was only published in July 2025, after a 13-month delay, and was accompanied by hundreds of objections and complaints, some reaching the European Public Prosecutor's Office over claims of a lack of transparency. In January 2026, the government announced that 40 million euros had been transferred to projects, but in May the bombshell exploded: the Greek education ministry announced the project was shelved and the funds were redirected to other goals. It turned out that on the day the list was published, the government had canceled the program without updating the candidates for ten months. Professor Aristides Hatzis from the University of Athens wrote to young scientists abroad: "Stay there! Don't wait a minute," and claimed the government breached basic trust. Professor Petros Bouras-Vallianatos, who assembled a team of 25 researchers from Britain and Germany, added that the government did not bother to provide a reasonable explanation. Research spending in Greece recorded a drop to 1.27 billion euros (0.51% of GDP) in 2025.