PM: Energy support will continue

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis highlighted on Friday that Greece’s insistence on a cap on natural gas acted was a catalyst for the white smoke at the end of the European Council.

“I had called for a unified European response to put a cap so that we do not pay more than we have to in order to cover our gas needs,” Mitsotakis said, adding that “our arguments and the majority of states that supported them convinced the most skeptical and we have an agreement at European level.”

“Regardless of the interventions, the Greek government will continue to support consumers and businesses against the energy price explosion,” he insisted.

Regarding the impact on state support, Mitsotakis said that “the lower the price of gas, the less painful for the state budget this exercise is.”

“It is quite different to have prices of 200-300 euros a megawatt hour from 100 euros a megawatt hour. The markets are convinced that we are serious, they saw that the EU is willing to move in this direction,” he added

Mitsotakis reiterated that his administration is “keeping reserves” and will “not move away from the 1.7% primary deficit objective in 2022,” in line with the notion that the decisions the Greek government is taking are properly costed.

He even cited Great Britain as an example and “how the government of a G7 country was punished.”

And it was in this context that he responded to a question posed by a reporters on whether the government is preparing new support measures on diesel and petrol prices.

“You keep asking me about new measures. Let’s first implement the measures we announced in Thessaloniki,” he replied.