Greece proposes EU-wide telecom spectrum levy to raise €15 billion for budget

September 23, 2026 at 03:53 PM2 min

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Greece has proposed a new EU-wide levy on telecom spectrum allocation to raise at least €15 billion for the bloc's long-term budget. The plan, submitted at a ministerial meeting under the Irish Council presidency, would channel part of auction proceeds into the EU budget and a strategic technology fund.

Key Facts

Greece aims to raise at least €15 billion for the EU's long-term budget through a new levy on telecom spectrum allocation.
The proposal was drafted by Greek Economy Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis and submitted at an EU ministerial meeting on Tuesday under the Irish Council presidency.
The levy would fund a 'European Spectrum Union', with proceeds split between the EU budget and a European investment mechanism for 6G, AI, and computing infrastructure.
The document estimates an initial financial scale of €12–15 billion, described as a planning assumption rather than an official valuation.
The proposed amount equals roughly 20% of the €69 billion telecom operators spent on 4G and 5G spectrum auctions, according to a European Commission analysis.

The Greek Proposal

Greece submitted the proposal at a meeting of EU ministers under the Irish Council presidency on Tuesday. The document was drafted by Greece's economy minister and Eurogroup chief Kyriakos Pierrakakis. Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Anastasios Chatzivasileiou said the EU needs new own resources to fund its budget directly. The plan calls for a 'European Spectrum Union' that would use part of spectrum auction proceeds as a new EU budget revenue stream. The remaining proceeds would seed a European investment mechanism targeting 6G, artificial intelligence, computing infrastructure, and secure connectivity.

Financial Scale and Context

The document estimates the potential initial financial scale at around €12–15 billion. It describes this figure as a planning assumption rather than an official valuation or forecast. The estimate excludes any potential future contribution from selected 5G rights. The proposed €12–15 billion is equivalent to roughly 20% of the €69 billion telecom operators have spent on spectrum auctions for 4G and 5G services. The European Commission provided the €69 billion figure in an analysis earlier this year.

Strategic Investment Mechanism

Athens proposes using the proceeds to capitalise a European equity fund investing in strategic technologies. The proposal echoes calls for a European Strategic Technology Equity Fund pushed by the European Commission. France and the Netherlands supported such a fund in a joint declaration on 2 September. Greece says the money could serve as a capital base, with the European Investment Bank leveraging it through loans, guarantees, and private investment.