Early Tuesday morning, the German news agency, dpa, reported that EU member states had reached an agreement on the plan, which provides for a voluntary 15% reduction in natural gas consumption.
of Penelope Galliou
With the aim of amending the Commission’s proposal for a horizontal reduction of 15% in the consumption of natural gas or even to exclude our country from this, the Greek Minister of Energy and Environment Kostas Skrekas goes to today’s crucial extraordinary meeting of his European counterparts in Brussels.
An extremely important meeting given the concern and objections that exist throughout Europe about energy in the next period, including Greece.
However, early on Tuesday morning, the German news agency, dpa, reported that the EU member states they came to an agreement on the plan, which predict voluntary reduction by 15% of natural gas consumption during the period from August 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023.
In addition, it foresees the creation of a mechanism that will sound the alarm throughout the European Union in the event of widespread gas shortages and the implementation of binding savings targets.
Yesterday the government representative, Yiannis Oikonomou stressed: “The proposal of the European Commission for a horizontal reduction of 15% in the consumption of natural gas as formulated by it, taking into account the average consumption of the last five years, is a proposal that cannot be accepted from our country” explaining that such an eventuality essentially means a 24% reduction for our country.
For this reason, during today’s European Energy Ministers’ Summit, Greece will seek to change the Commission’s proposal or even exclude Greece from this reduction, while as the government representative pointed out “if any reduction is decided, it should be decided on the basis of previous year and not the five-year average”.
The Greek side, insisting on not accepting the 15% reduction, according to government sources, will bring back to the discussion table the proposals it has tabled to deal with the energy crisis, and which also concern the prices of natural gas and those affected by it, but and supply chain security.
The Greek Prime Minister’s letter
In this context and in parallel with the national support plan for households and businesses against energy price increases, Greece continues to work towards a common European solution through the new initiative of the Greek Prime Minister.
Following on from proposals he had tabled in the past with the aim of taking initiatives at the European level to deal with the energy crisis and its consequences for households and businesses in Europe, the Kyriakos Mitsotakis with his letter to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and on the occasion of today’s Summit of European Energy Ministers, proposes the creation of a pan-European mechanism to reduce natural gas consumption in industry against compensation. The aim is to enable Europe to face the losses that would occur in the event of an interruption or further reduction of natural gas flows from Russia.
A move that Athens has been preparing for some time now, given the blackmailing moves of Moscow and for this reason, as the government representative announced, “the Prime Minister is in constant communication with his counterparts, with officials of the European Commission. We will continue to support her views. And every idea and every proposal we have, which we are convinced will contribute to a more effective response to the energy crisis, we will share with the leaders of the rest of the countries of Europe and also with the competent officials of the European Commission,” he said.
However, Athens has already told Brussels many times that it will not risk the supply of electricity to households and businesses by adopting this specific proposal.
A position that is based on the fact that Greece, like other European countries, has ensured a very large percentage of its energy security and is less dependent on the flow of Russian natural gas than the countries of the North. Also, according to government sources, the country will be ready by the end of the year to increase electricity production by five terawatts and feed the system for the next two years.
The Greek grid of measures
As early as last March, the Greek Prime Minister had submitted a series of proposals to the Commission, concerning the ceiling on the wholesale market of natural gas, the setting of prices in the event of an emergency arising from the flow of natural gas from Russia, a ceiling on the wholesale profit , trading with physical delivery and enhancing liquidity in the market.
Proposals that have found supporters in the EU countries that also react to the European Commission’s proposal and are considered to achieve in a better way the coverage of the gas supply of the member states, as well as to address the energy costs that mainly affect the countries of the South.​
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