Greece’s Law 4864/2021 created a modern strategic-investment regime to attract large-scale and high-value projects. Beyond definitions and procedures, the primary purpose of the investment program is to motivate investors through legal certainty, faster approvals, fiscal benefits and targeted subsidies. Below is a concise legal-practical guide that includes all principal categories used to classify strategic investments.

What is a Strategic Investment

A strategic investment is a project of significant national or regional importance that promotes employment, production capacity, innovation and sustainability. The regime pairs one or more from the following: fast licensing, spatial-planning flexibility, tax incentives and funding of eligible expenses.

The Core Motivations Behind the Regime 

The Greek government designed the framework to meet several strategic objectives:

  1. Attract foreign direct investment (FDI) – offering a stable, transparent legal environment with fast-track approval processes.
  2. Accelerate project implementation – eliminating the bureaucratic delays that traditionally discourage investors.
  3. Support innovation and sustainability – rewarding projects that focus on R&D, green energy, and digital transformation.
  4. Boost employment and regional development – providing extra benefits for projects that create stable jobs, especially in less developed areas.
  5. Enhance legal and fiscal certainty – ensuring investors operate within a predictable regulatory and tax framework.
  6. In short, the regime offers investors clarity, speed, and stability.

Full categories breakdown

  • Category 1a — Very large projects
    Threshold: Budget ≥ €75 million (all sectors).
    Motivation: Transformational projects with national economic impact.
    Typical incentives: Fast licensing, spatial planning (special plans), tax stability, subsidies.
  • Category 1b — Large projects with strong employment
    Threshold: Budget ≥ €40 million and creation of at least 75 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs.
    Motivation: Combine scale with significant employment creation.
    Typical incentives: Fast licensing, tax stability, potential employment/R&D subsidies.
  • Category 2a — Sector-targeted medium projects
    Threshold: Budget ≥ €20 million in designated strategic sectors (e.g., agri-food, biotech, cultural/creative industries, robotics, AI, medical tourism, waste management, space, digital/cloud).
    Motivation: Promote high-value, future-oriented sectors even at moderate scale.
    Typical incentives: Tax stability, fast licensing, and targeted subsidies (R&D, equipment).
  • Category 2b — Sector projects with employment
    Threshold: Budget ≥ €30 million and creation of ≥ 50 new jobs (in the strategic sectors above).
    Motivation: Emphasise employment outcomes within priority sectors.
    Typical incentives: Same as 2a, with stronger employment support.
  • Category 2c — Zone-based projects
    Threshold: Budget ≥ €20 million, creation of ≥ 40 new jobs, and location within Organised Manufacturing/Business Activity Zones (ΟΥΜΕΔ).
    Motivation: Encourage clustering and efficient use of designated infrastructure/zones.
    Typical incentives: Spatial benefits, tax stability, employment subsidies.
  • Fast-Track Strategic Investments — Accelerated smaller projects or expansions
    Thresholds: Lower budget/job thresholds (often €10–20 million and varying job minimum) for projects meeting fast-track criteria or extensions of existing investments.
    Motivation: Facilitate expansions and modernisations with rapid processing.
    Typical incentives: Accelerated licensing, selective subsidies and tax measures.
  • Flagship Investments of Exceptional Importance — Iconic, transformational projects
    Threshold/Criteria: Exceptional national importance, focus on green growth, innovation, or sectors like green hydrogen, large R&D hubs or major industrial complexes.
    Motivation: Deliver national transformation and signal strategic priorities.
    Typical incentives: Maximum available package. Priority processing, spatial planning flexibility, broad subsidy support and long tax stability.
  • Automatically-Included Strategic Investments — PPP/IPCEI and similar
    Threshold/Criteria: Projects that form part of public-private partnerships (PPPs) or Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), generally with budgets ≥ €20 million.
    Motivation: Align domestic strategic policy with EU priorities and large infrastructure projects.
    Typical incentives: Strategic status with corresponding legal and fiscal advantages, coordinated public support.
  • Business Parks
    Threshold/Criteria: Business Parks covering at least 500 sqm) and with a minimum budget of €10 million.
    Motivation: Encourage the development of large, organized business zones that support industrial clustering, infrastructure sharing, and sustainable spatial planning.
    Typical incentives: Spatial-planning (zoning) benefits, tax incentives, and fast-track licensing procedures.

Main Incentives and Legal Advantages

The strategic investment offers a suite of powerful legal and financial incentives, making Greece an increasingly competitive investment destination:

  1. Fast Licensing
    Procedures and simplifying communication with public authorities.
  2. Tax Stability and Exemptions
    Investors enjoy long-term corporate tax stability (up to 12 years) and, in certain cases, exemptions or deductions tied to investment costs or R&D spending.
  3. Spatial Planning and Zoning Flexibility
    Strategic projects benefit from special spatial planning tools, allowing large-scale developments with optimised land-use rules.
  4. Subsidies and Employment Support
    Eligible projects may receive grants for R&D, equipment leasing, or hiring unemployed and disadvantaged workers. A key incentive to support sustainable employment.
  5. Access to Financing and EU Programmes
    Strategic status facilitates access to national and European funding instruments, often combined with state-aid-compatible support.

These advantages significantly reduce investment risk and cost, offering a strong motivational package for both Greek and foreign investors.

Why These Incentives Matter

From a business and legal perspective, the motivation behind these incentives is clear:

  • They improve project profitability through tax and cost benefits.
  • They reduce administrative uncertainty, giving investors control over time and process.
  • They enhance Greece’s reputation as a predictable, pro-investment jurisdiction.
  • They encourage innovation and green transformation, aligning with EU priorities and ESG standards.

In essence, the framework positions Greece as a gateway for strategic, future-oriented investments across Europe and the Mediterranean.

Conclusion

We can assist you in preparing and collecting the required documents based on the applicable category, and we can submit them to the competent authorities in order to obtain the required certification confirming that the criteria for classifying the investment as strategic have been met. Once the investment is characterized as strategic, the investor may benefit from the relevant incentives.