Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met this morning with the European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra, at Maximos Mansion.
During the meeting, issues within the Commissioner’s portfolio were discussed, with an emphasis on the EU’s climate commitments alongside economic growth and supporting the competitiveness of European industry.
The Prime Minister stressed that Greece is on track to meet the EU’s targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. He underlined that Greece has a balanced energy mix, with increased penetration of renewable energy sources, and made special reference to the use of natural gas during a transitional period.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis highlighted the issue of distortions in the energy market, which leads to large discrepancies in electricity prices between EU countries. He pointed out that such distortions are not conceivable in a single market, reiterated the importance of interconnections between EU member states and stressed the need for the green transition to go hand in hand with the high competitiveness of the European economy.
They also discussed issues related to the European tax framework and its importance in terms of economic growth, strategic autonomy and internal convergence of the EU.
At the beginning of their meeting, the Prime Minister and the Commissioner had the following dialogue:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: You have a very broad portfolio, and there are lots of topics to discuss. I understand you already had productive meetings with the relevant ministers, but it’s always a pleasure to see you. I was thinking these types of days when it’s sunny and when it’s reasonably windy and our energy consumption has not hit the all-time highs of the summer, we produce a significant amount of our energy, we cover a significant amount of our energy demands from renewable sources. As you know, we are at the forefront of the green transition.
But of course, we’re equally concerned with making sure that the green transition happens in a way that doesn’t undermine the competitiveness of the European and the Greek economy, in particular, the industrial base. So there’s going to be a lot to discuss, always forward thinking. It’s always good when we meet representatives of the European institutions that we no longer talk about the past, but we talk about the future, because the debates in the past have previously been dominated by other topics which are rather painful. But now, at least, our agenda is very proactive and very positive.
We do want to contribute also in the broader sense in the European debate. These are very complex issues, the ones that you deal with. We’re here to support the agenda.
Wopke Hoekstra: Prime Minister, thank you very much for having me, but also for doing such an excellent job with the government. I can truly commend what the government and the country have been doing in terms of the economy, truly very impressive, but also the link with clean growth and climate. We had a couple of truly excellent interactions already.
But I think what is at the nexus of European policy or should be at the nexus of European policy, bridging competitiveness with climate and independence, that is what I see here in action and what is happening here. I think that is an example to all of us and truly something that should inspire all of us in Europe as a way going forward. So thank you very much for having me, but also for doing such a truly impressive job. Thank you.
