Minister of Environment and Energy, Stavros Papastavrou, attended the opening ceremony of the Green Transition Forum 5 yesterday. On “Enhancing Competitiveness and Innovation in the Central and Eastern European Region”, held in Sofia, Bulgaria, in the presence of the Vice-President of the European Commission, Roxana Minzatou, the Bulgarian Minister of Energy, Zeko Stankov and the former Prime Minister of Italy and rapporteur of the Report on the Future of the Single Market.

Mr. Papastavrou, during the opening of the conference, had the opportunity to address a speech where, among other things, he stressed that the energy dividing line of the European Union is an obstacle to the competitiveness of the Greek economy, businesses and households, as well as for Europe itself, while highlighting the need for the immediate activation of the task force proposed in January 2025 by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to eliminate the disparities in electricity prices between the countries of the European North and the countries of South-Eastern Europe.

Focusing on energy policy issues, Papastavrou said that in this area, the EU has proven that there is still no real union, as the market remains fragmented and the region is not substantially interconnected. He also referred to the recent report by Mr Enrico Letta, according to which the single market is necessary to address the major challenges of the times. “We need to mobilise investment to meet Europe’s huge needs through a more integrated and robust European financial market capable of channelling savings towards investment needs. We need to build a new alliance among member states to achieve carbon capture,” Papastavrou said.

“Southeast Europe is facing systematically higher prices. Energy price discrepancies between EU regions threaten the internal market and undermine competitiveness. In this field, Greece has succeeded in making the network agenda a strategic issue of high political importance, giving it urgency and calling for immediate results. On Greece’s initiative, the Commission agreed to set up a special task force which must, however, operate immediately and systematically”, Papastavrou underlined.

Finally, he concluded that “our common goal is a more secure, interconnected and climate-neutral European energy system that benefits all member states. And Greece is ready to play its role. It is time for Europe to take the next step.”

The Minister of Environment and Energy, Mr. Stavros Papastavrou, together with the Deputy Minister, responsible for energy issues, Mr. Nikos Tsafos, are leaving today for Luxembourg, where they will participate in the Council of Energy Ministers of the European Union.