It is time for European politics, which in extreme circumstances – I stress in extreme circumstances, such as the ones we are experiencing now – to take bold, immediate, radical measures that will detach geopolitics from the energy crisis. said in his speech at the Council of Ministers the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who earlier today sent letter to the head of the Commissionwhich calls on the European Commission to consider a six-point plan drawn up for the EU to regulate the wholesale gas market.
The prime minister announced that in the next 10 days the government will be able to announce and launch “a full additional support program, utilizing both national and European resources”.
The Prime Minister also referred to meeting with the Turkish president on Sunday Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying he travels in a productive mood, but with “measured and realistic expectations”.
“As neighbors on the map, as partners in NATO, we are called to try in the field imposed by the international situation. That is, to keep our region away from any additional geopolitical crisis and, of course, to align ourselves with the allied spirit, which condemns historical revisionism and violation of International Lawbut also of borders.
As I said, the fact that we disagree does not mean that, especially at this time, we should not talk. In fact, Greece has every reason to seek the debate, as our positions are based on international legitimacy. “
The entire position of the Prime Minister:
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I also wish the Minister of State, who is ill with Covid and is at home, a passing wish. As the geopolitical environment is still shaken by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war situation there is having a devastating effect on the energy fields and the world economy.
International developments are thus increasingly dramatically affecting each country’s national challenges. And in a world that is changing rapidly, while at the same time interdependent, all these problems become even more complex. But solutions can be found if they are bold and coordinated.
As a result, political time is thickening, highlighting new priorities: the fight for peace and legitimacy must first and foremost be combined with initiatives, bold initiatives, for Europe’s defense and energy policy. The war tension in Ukraine to be entrenched by regional security zones on our continent. And, of course, politics to intervene, restoring energy markets to their role and shielding the income of citizens, businesses, from excessive international appreciation.
With these orientations, the government is moving on the internal front, but at the same time it is moving in the European context, but also in the field of our nearest region.
With regard to the first, the internal front, let me reiterate our commitment that support for businesses, households and farmers will continue as long as the energy crisis lasts. In fact, in the next ten days, I believe that we will be able, with the co-responsible Ministers, to announce and launch a full additional support program, utilizing both national and European resources.
But a pan-European problem also requires a pan-European answer. So before I meet tomorrow at the extraordinary Versailles Summit in a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, I propose a six-point political intervention in shaping the commercial value of gas in the wholesale market. This is because, without actually having a real problem of production, quantity and supply of fuel, prices have skyrocketed, under the pretext of the crisis in Ukraine.
And, obviously, the consequences of this situation affect the electricity bills of consumers but also the economies of all countries. Let me remind you that most countries in the European Union have significant electricity generation from natural gas.
It is therefore time for European politics, which in extreme circumstances – I stress in extreme circumstances such as the ones we are experiencing now – to take bold radical measures, which will detach geopolitics from the energy crisis.. Measures of emergency character but also measures of immediate action.
If we consider that gas prices were before the crisis at 30 euros per megawatt hour and now have reached 300 euros, then we realize that our enemy is not only war, but a major malfunction with speculative causes in the gas market.
This is an initiative combined with the need to set up a Special Fund to absorb increases in energy. And, obviously, it is part of the wider European planning for the disconnection of the member states of the Union from Russian oil and gas. In addition, the European Commission yesterday submitted to the public debate a series of proposals which will be discussed tomorrow at the Extraordinary Summit.
But our proposal has a specific and realistic goal, and that is to disconnect the war developments from the price rally and to stop feeding each other these two crises.
It is therefore clear that Athens is actively participating in the agenda of the European Council, tomorrow in Paris, with positions on everything that will be discussed. For the strategic autonomy, for which I remind you that we were one of the first countries to highlight its importance, for the need to strengthen the defense budgets of the Member States. But, at the same time, we will come up with positions to reduce our energy dependence, to the resilience of our economies, to how we can make the fastest transition to the green economy, the faster entry of Renewable Energy Sources into the energy balance.
I would also like to remind you that today Renewable Energy is by far the cheapest form of energy and the only one that can squeeze down the total cost of energy in Europe. Because these four pillars finally form a new European concept that our Union is called to build, in order to play a leading role in the new geopolitical environment.
At the same time, in addition to the national and European context, on another level, on Sunday – as you know – I visit Istanbul to honor the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Sunday of Orthodoxy. And I will also meet with President Erdoğan, whose invitation I accepted. My firm position, after all, is that the “windows” of dialogue always remain open, just as our doors remain closed to any threat.
So I travel to Turkey on Sunday in a productive mood, especially when our two countries are already dealing with wider regional issues.
Therefore, as neighbors on the map, as partners in NATO, we are called to try in the field imposed by the international situation. That is, to keep our region away from any additional geopolitical crisis and of course to align ourselves with the allied spirit which condemns the historical revision and the violation of International Law, but also of borders.
As I said, the fact that we disagree does not mean that, especially at this time, we should not talk. In fact, Greece has every reason to seek the debate, as our positions are based on international legitimacy.
My expectations, therefore, are measured and realistic. That is why I come to this meeting with the confidence that our substantiated national views offer us.
Finally – to get on the agenda of the current Council of Ministers – the important government actions continue, according to our annual planning. From the big issues that will concern us today, let me stop, to ask for your attention, especially on the major issue of the reorganization of Primary Health Care.
A bill that aims to enable all Greek citizens to now have a personal doctor, who will monitor and advise them.
We have talked many times about the need for Covid’s adventure to be the occasion for important interventions in the National Health System and obviously a significant intervention without the substantial upgrade of Primary Health Care is not meant. So, we will wait with great interest for the suggestions and proposals of the Ministry of Health.
In conclusion, let me say that the war in Ukraine shifted the public debate exclusively to the tragic developments in Eastern Europe, but we are not done with the pandemic yet. In the last few days we have seen a small increase in cases again. Therefore, we do not think that we should in any way “whistle” in this health adventure just because it has stopped being relevant.
We must continue to adhere to the basic rules of protection and, obviously, our insistence will continue to be on the need to continue the vaccination program. As we move into spring and summer, it is a given that the situation will improve, but we will now prepare a country preparation plan for what will happen from September onwards, which we will have the opportunity to discuss at the next Ministerial Council.
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