The Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy Nikos Tsafos focused on the discrepancies in electricity prices between EU countries and on the actions required for the internal market to function in practice during his intervention at the ministerial meeting of the High Level Group for the Energy Connectivity of Central and South-Eastern Europe (CESEC) held today in Bucharest.

Mr. Tsafos stressed that the internal market has weakened in recent years, as price differences have widened rather than narrowed, and even among CESEC countries, these differences can be significant. Indicative today, the most expensive belt is 30% more expensive than the cheapest.

He also noted that ACER (European body of regulators) has indicated that these differences are not only the result of insufficient interconnections but also due to regulations that hinder the free market. And he emphasized that the member countries must proceed with the implementation of ACER’s proposals.

In relation to the natural gas market, Mr. Tsafos pointed out that Greece has invested in natural gas infrastructure and connectivity. “Now, he concluded, it’s about using what we built — but making sure we actually cut off Russian gas — and watching gas prices, which are lower than last year but the market is always volatile.”