At the Delphi Economic Forum 2026, Constantinos Antonopoulos, Founder & CEO of Inspiring Earth, offered a thought-provoking perspective on protectionism, shifting geopolitical dynamics, and the urgent need to invest in Greece’s most critical sectors.

Here’s a concise summary of his key insights:

• Globalization is omnipresent, but now we are noticing increased protectionism with the investments of the Western world being directed “within the walls”.

• Today’s wars have an accelerator effect in the geopolitical game. A typical example is that EU agreements with third countries like MERCOSUR or with India, that had been discussed for more than twenty years were signed within a week.

• There are no serious investments in Greek Industry or on Agri-food sector. And yet, they are the two main sectors with great added value, create jobs, profits, and have a beneficial effect on trade balance problem, which is constantly in deficit and therefore fuels borrowing.

• A big problem is the de-hellenization of large Greek businesses. We should therefore focus on how to finance, merge and modernize the small and medium-sized enterprises that can grow, with their profitability remaining in Greece.

• The agri-food sector must be subsidized. However, subsidies should be made on actual produce and its sales instead of inactive fields.