The need for immediate coordinated measures at central European level to support European consumers, especially vulnerable households and small and medium-sized enterprises, from the explosive increases in energy costs, stressed the Minister of Environment and Energy, Costas Skrekas, who attended the extraordinary meeting. of the EU Council of Energy Ministers today in Brussels.
The Minister of Environment and Energy, Costas Skrekas, participated in the extraordinary meeting of the EU Council of Energy Ministers, which took place today, May 2, in Brussels, where he reiterated the proposals of the Greek government for imposing a ceiling on the wholesale energy markets and the establishment of a European Solidarity Mechanism, to compensate for the effects of the international energy crisis and to stabilize prices at affordable levels.
Mr. Skrekas conveyed the position of Greece and the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, for solidarity with Poland and Bulgaria, where gas supplies from Russia have been cut off.
As he said, Greece is ready to support Bulgaria and from the first day of the power outage it has started to supply quantities of natural gas to the neighboring country.
Specifically, Costas Skrekas said: “At today’s Extraordinary Council, I stressed to my counterparts that we must immediately take collective action to support European consumers, who are being tested by the international energy crisis intensified by the horrific war in Ukraine. The suffocating pressures of vulnerable households and small and medium-sized enterprises from explosive increases in energy prices threaten social cohesion in Europe. Now, more than ever, we need to agree on a collective strategy with targeted measures to support society. At the same time, we must send a strong message of unity and solidarity to protect our energy security, our citizens and our economies. I called on my counterparts to adopt a realistic and carefully designed strategy for the gradual decoupling of Russian fossil fuels that does not jeopardize Europe’s security of gas supply. “Accelerating the green transition, implementing critical energy infrastructure that will enhance our energy competitiveness and working with neighboring countries to diversify energy sources and supply routes are the only way to overcome this unprecedented crisis.”
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