Greek Energy Minister Papastavrou urges unified EU electricity market at Luxembourg council

Greek Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou attended the EU Council of Environment Ministers and the EU Council of Energy Ministers in Luxembourg. He condemned Turkey’s attempt to block Cyprus from the preparatory procedures of the COP31 climate conference and affirmed Greece’s full support for EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra’s statement.

Papastavrou announced the launch of Greece’s first public consultation on a National Water Strategy and said ten projects for desalination and water supply on nine islands have been approved, underscoring water’s role in security and development.

Turning to energy, he called for strong national and European electricity networks and a rapid move toward a single EU electricity market, arguing that such integration is essential for energy security, competitiveness and price stability. He noted that the Greek government has consistently invested in grid interconnections since 2019, highlighted the recent capital increase of ADME, and projected that completing interconnections to Crete, the North Aegean, the Dodecanese and the Cyclades could save Greek consumers about €1 billion. He warned the EU not to make concessions on these issues.