In Greece, the rise of Turkish investments and “the fear of colonization”

A constant suspicion. The activities of Turkish nationals in Greece are attracting particular attention from the country's authorities and media. "What are Turks looking for in the Greek real estate market?" asks the news website News247 .

By the end of 2024, Turkish investments in Greece reached 485 million euros, an increase of 269% compared to 2023, reports the Greek media, which asks:

“Aggressive colonization, golden visas for the European Union or an interesting investment for their currency?”

The tumultuous relations between Athens and Ankara cast doubt on the motives behind the financial transactions. During a period of calm and as part of a diplomatic rapprochement between the two countries, Greece had facilitated the granting of visas to Turkish nationals for ten Aegean islands in late 2023.

"But those who celebrated the growth in tourism and the influx of capital now seem worried," the news site points out.

To the point that the Greek intelligence services are interested in around a hundred real estate purchases along the border between the two countries, in Thrace and on the islands of the Aegean Sea.

"Small and large-scale real estate acquisitions in the Rhodopes [a mountain range between Bulgaria and Greece] and in Evros [a territory on the periphery of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace] are creating fears of colonization," according to News247, which points out that about ten MPs from the majority party have raised the issue in parliament.

Behind the fears and fantasies, the economic interests of Turkish nationals are very real. The introduction of a " golden visa," a European visa granted in exchange for real estate investment, has pushed many Turks to buy property in Greece in recent years, while the declining value of the Turkish lira is encouraging investment abroad.

“A real estate project in Greece can bring in the equivalent of three basic salaries in Istanbul per month,” Pantelis Spyratos, a real estate agent in Thessaloniki, told News247 .

In Greece's second-largest city, property purchases by Turkish nationals began after the failed 2016 coup and the subsequent crackdown by Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, with the neighboring country acting as a refuge.

Exile, investments, geopolitical aspirations... There seem to be many reasons for Turks investing in Greece. Individual logic or hidden collective aspirations? "The question remains open," according to News247 .