“Yes, in the Green Agreement and the green transition, but corresponding financial support is also needed. And I don’t see a better way to support public policies than to continue after 2026, with a new funding package, the Recovery Fund, which emphasizes exactly these policies.” This was emphasized today by the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis at the Annual Economic Forum organized by the European Commission in Brussels. The Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė, the President of the European Investment Bank Nadia Calviño, the Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentilloni, the Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson and the former Polish Commissioner Danuta Hübner, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance were invited to speak at the same Forum of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko, Spain’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise Carlos Cuerpo.

Mr. Hatzidakis participated in the panel entitled: “The green transition: Fair policies for people and the climate”. In his intervention, the Greek Minister emphasized that the effort to achieve the climate goals set in the framework of the Paris Agreement should be continued, while at the same time ensuring that the necessary adjustments are made to the pace of transition in certain sectors, such as agriculture, so that not to adversely affect farmers’ income. Mr. Hatzidakis also mentioned that the significant effort being made at the European level is not enough. “We should put more emphasis on the observance and implementation of international agreements, while putting the climate agenda at the center of the bilateral agreements that Europe has with third countries. In addition, we should ensure that the least developed countries can also respond, and the International Development Banks can make a significant contribution to this. Let’s not stay in the theory any longer”, emphasized Mr. Hatzidakis.

Mr. Hatzidakis also referred to the significant progress achieved by Greece, highlighting in particular the reduction of coal use by 80% in electricity generation, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 43% compared to 2005 and the increase in the share of renewables sources (with Greece ranking 7th globally based on the proportion of electricity generated from solar and wind and 5th in terms of capacity per capita).

The Greek Minister also presented the main aspects of the Just Development Transition Plan, which aims to support the Greek lignite areas in the Region of Western Macedonia and the Municipality of Megalopolis. In addition, Mr. Hatzidakis referred to the programs to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, stressing that they have multiple benefits: Reduction of energy consumption and associated emissions, reduction of household bill costs and creation of thousands of new jobs.

Responding to a question about the impact that the new framework of fiscal rules might have on the effort of European states to achieve their climate goals, Mr. Hatzidakis pointed out that fiscal discipline is primarily imposed by the markets and that the new framework leaves more scope than before for green public investment. At the same time, he emphasized that the financing of the green transition requires both public and private funds. With regard to private financing, Mr. Hatzidakis stated that an acceleration of the integration of the European capital market should be sought, stressing that this need is highlighted in the Letta report on the Single European Market and is expected to be confirmed in the upcoming Draghi report on the Competitiveness of EU. With regard to public investments, the Greek Minister made special reference to the need to continue the joint development effort that began with the Recovery Fund. “It is positive that the leaders of the EU member states and the Commission adopted this tool that expires in two years from today. So what comes next? We need to start thinking about the future of the Recovery Fund and the future of the European Union budget, because it will be strange to say on the one hand that tackling climate change is a key priority and then look at the budget and not have enough funds”, concluded the Greek Minister

The Brussels Economic Forum is the most important annual economic conference organized by the European Commission for 20 years, with the participation of politicians, academics, representatives of civil society and entrepreneurs. The aim is to highlight the main challenges facing the European economy and the search for practical solutions to them.
This year’s conference focused on the green transition, Artificial Intelligence and the competitiveness of the European economy, posing as a key question how the outcome of the European elections is expected to affect the way in which Europe approaches these issues.

On the sidelines of the Forum, Mr. Hatzidakis gave an interview to Portuguese television.