Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Commissioner of Energy Kadri Simson, in Maximos Mansion, and talked about the difficulties that households face due to the rise in energy prices.
In view of the proposals that the European Commission is expected to submit within May, the Prime Minister pointed out that: “I’m very much looking forward to the Commission, which has been very proactive in terms of coming up with a very useful toolbox to move one or two steps further in terms of supporting member states, because no member state on its own is able to deal with this crisis. Certainly not a country such as Greece, which is committed towards a path of fiscal sustainability because we’re still suffering from the legacy of ten years of crisis”.
“It is not sustainable to impose this burden on our citizens, especially when we’re talking about prices of natural gas that do not reflect the fundamentals of supply and demand. Nothing has really changed, but the prices have increased five-fold, six-fold, ten-fold occasionally. So I think all options need to be on the table, including a possible price cap on natural gas. And of course, we need to find a way to quickly break the link between the prices of natural gas and the prices of electricity,” stressed the Prime Minister.
“Greece has a significant potential to play as a renewable powerhouse, as an entry point for gas from the Eastern Mediterranean, either through pipelines, the EastMed project, or in the short term through LNG and we’re talking to all parties involved. And of course we also want to move forward with strengthening our interconnections. As you know the electricity interconnection between Greece and Egypt is a project that needs in my mind also to have European support but also through the Repower instrument. I think there are other projects that will be of great interest to Europe as a whole that could be co-financed and move off the ground very quickly”, the Prime Minister pointed out, during the discussion regarding Europe’s energy security challenge.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of the Environment and Energy Konstantinos Skrekas, the Director of the Prime Minister’s Diplomatic Office Ambassador Anna-Maria Boura and the Deputy Government Spokesperson Aristotelia Peloni.
The entire conversation between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Commissioner of Energy Kadri Simson follows:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: You do come at a very interesting time, and I’m very much looking forward to our discussion. Yesterday, I was in Western Macedonia, which used to be the heartland of Greek lignite production, to inaugurate the largest PV plant in Southeastern Europe, 204 gigawatts. It was actually built within 20 months. And I think this is an indication of our commitment to make the green transition a reality and to take full advantage of the abundant wind and sun that we are endowed with. But again, this is a project that relates to the future.
I’m more concerned with what is happening at present and with the Russian invasion in Ukraine. We are all -you know that much better than me- witnessing unprecedented volatility and increases in the prices of natural gas and the interconnection between the price of natural gas and the price of electricity is causing significant hardship for citizens across Europe, but also here in Greece. We have heavily subsidized households and businesses using proceeds from the ETS scheme, but also national funds. But it is very clear that we cannot deal with this crisis on our own.
And that is why I would very much urge you to examine all possible options to see how we can address this issue at the European level. I want to be very clear, and I want to repeat to you what I told my colleagues at the Council: if we do not succeed in addressing this issue, the forces of populism will re-emerge in Europe. It is not sustainable to impose this burden on our citizens, especially when we’re talking about prices of natural gas that do not reflect the fundamentals of supply and demand. Nothing has really changed, but the prices have increased five-fold, six-fold, ten-fold occasionally. So I think all options need to be on the table, including a possible price cap on natural gas. And of course, we need to find a way to quickly break the link between the prices of natural gas and the prices of electricity.
So I would just like to reiterate to you what we’ve been discussing at the level of Council. I’m very much looking forward to the Commission, which has been very proactive in terms of coming up with a very useful toolbox to move one or two steps further in terms of supporting member states, because no member state on its own is able to deal with this crisis. Certainly not a country such as Greece, which is committed towards a path of fiscal sustainability because we’re still suffering from the legacy of ten years of crisis.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: So again, welcome. Eager to discuss the present, but also the future. If we want to see the other side of the glass, Greece has a significant potential to play as a renewable powerhouse, as an entry point for gas from the Eastern Mediterranean, either through pipelines, the EastMed project, or in the short term through LNG and we’re talking to all parties involved. And of course we also want to move forward with strengthening our interconnections. As you know the electricity interconnection between Greece and Egypt is a project that needs in my mind also to have European support but also through the Repower instrument. I think there are other projects that will be of great interest to Europe as a whole that could be co-financed and move off the ground very quickly. So again welcome. It’s a pleasure to have you here.
Kadri Simson: Thank you. It is a pleasure to be here. Despite the challenging times for Europe in general and the energy sector in particular. And since Russia attacked Ukraine, we have been focused on how we can support this brave country but also how we can calm down the energy markets and how we can reduce our dependence on Russian imports. And in this regard, I think that the key element is European Union Member States’ unity. To support this unity it is very important from our side, to keep constant contact with member States. So this is the main reason why I’m here today and I’m very thankful that you received me.
I am waiting/ looking forward to the very interesting program that is ahead of me. But of course there are some challenges right now that we have to discuss. And then if I go to sum it up then we do have this emergency right now about how to support our households and enterprises in the context of very high energy prices. In the midterm, we have to secure our strategic sovereignty and of course in the long-run we have to decarbonise. All of us have committed to become climate neutral and in this regard Greece has been a very ambitious partner of ours and your national plans are very promising.
So as you mentioned you have a unique position here. Lots of abundant renewable resources but also different supply routes. So you can lead by example and show also the other member states that reforms are possible and actually they can give us advantage, if we implement them in a wise way.
