Greece's Minister of Environment and Energy, Stavros Papastavrou, said the government will take specific measures to support households if heating oil prices do not come down before the winter season, in an interview with the television channel Skai.
Papastavrou said the government monitors price developments daily and pointed out that heating oil currently costs nearly 60 to 65 percent more than it did a year ago. He said Greece has shown in the past that it steps in to support society whenever necessary, and that current prices are clearly moving in that direction.
"If there is no de-escalation, then you should expect the government overall to take some specific measures," he said, according to the interview.
Fuel measures under review
Turning to fuel for vehicles, Papastavrou said the support measures that applied in August and September will be reviewed, and that further developments on that front should also be expected. He said the government can act as a buffer for citizens but cannot control geopolitical events driving up prices. It can, and must, limit the impact those events have on the public, he said.
Greece-Cyprus-Israel power link
Papastavrou also addressed the planned electrical interconnection linking the power grids of Greece, Cyprus and Israel, a subsea cable project meant to connect the electricity networks of the three countries across the Eastern Mediterranean. He said the French infrastructure investment firm Meridiam has joined the project, that the American side has given it recognition, and that the link with Israel effectively draws the whole Eastern Mediterranean into the interconnection.
He said Turkey has asked to be consulted for permission over the project, a demand he rejected outright. Papastavrou said there is no legal basis for such a request, and that it is not required under international law or the Law of the Sea, a reference to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which governs maritime rights including the laying of undersea cables.
He said undersea cables are being laid around the world because interconnections are currently the most important element in the energy sector. Papastavrou said there is categorically no scenario in which Greece, or anyone representing the country, would seek permission from Turkey for the project. He said keeping Turkey informed about how the project proceeds is entirely different from seeking its permission, something he said Greece is not obliged to request.
Papastavrou did not give a specific timeline for when the government would decide on new heating oil or fuel measures, saying only that developments would continue to be monitored.
