Greece Can Be an Energy Portal, EU Commissioner Says

Greece can play a highly significant role as an energy portal and an energy hub for Europe, EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said after the end of a meeting with Environment, Energy and Climate Change minister Yiannis Maniatis and deputy minister Makis Papageorgiou on December 6 in Athens.

Oettinger specifically referred to the transportation of natural gas from Azerbaijan via Turkey and Greece to Italy, when the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) goes into operation in five years time, as well as to the interconnection with Bulgaria and the prospect of transporting natural gas from Eastern Mediterranean deposits to Europe via Greece.

As for the Greek EU presidency in the next six months, Oettinger said the agenda had already been agreed and the main priorities included the completion of the internal energy market and energy security, as well as the containment and or reduction of energy prices. "We’d like to attract industries, not to turn them away,” he said.

In referring to the presidency's priorities, Maniatis stressed that the focus will be on the competitiveness of European industry in terms of energy costs, as well as on the protection of vulnerable households, especially in the crisis-hit countries of southern Europe, hydrocarbon exploration in the Mediterranean and implementation of new energy interconnections aiming at better prices for consumers.

Greek News Agenda: Trans Adriatic Pipeline Agreement Signed