Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during his visit to Astypalaea, was interviewed by Reuters.
Asked about the "Astypalea: smart & sustainable island" project, which is now in its second year of implementation, and its place in the government's clean energy and climate actions, the Prime Minister replied. What we are trying to do here in Astypalaia and we will try to do the same on all our islands is to prove that the transition to clean energy can become a reality at an even faster pace than many expected.
Answering a question on Europe's transition to an emissions-neutral economy, at a time when the EU is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuel exports, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: "Meeting our green transition targets becomes a priority not only for environmental reasons, not only to become the first continent in the world to have a climate-neutral footprint, but it is also important in order to strengthen our strategic autonomy."
The wind and the sun we have here produce, at this moment, the cheapest electricity we can have. It is abundant and it is ours. We don't have to rely on anyone else."
Asked if there is a possibility of energy sufficiency problems during the summer, the Prime Minister said: "Greece has been moving away from lignite for some time now but we still have lignite plants capable of providing backup power in case we need it, we have sufficient reserves of natural gas to produce electricity from gas and, of course, during the summer renewable energy sources are working at full capacity, whether it is wind turbines or solar panels.
There is no reason to worry about our energy sufficiency during the summer."
Regarding the management of the energy crisis and electricity costs at the European level, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: "We raised this issue, I raised it myself at the European Council. Now, more of my colleagues share my view that we need to fundamentally rethink the way the European electricity market operates. And we need to be able to take more drastic measures, such as a temporary cap on the wholesale price of gas, to ensure that we have a market that works properly.
The truth is that now, in Europe, we buy gas at the highest possible price compared to other regions or other continents. So this is a short-term problem that we have to deal with."
Asked about Iran's seizure of two Greek-owned oil tankers in Gulf waters, the Prime Minister said: "What happened was an unacceptable action, which essentially constitutes international piracy. The issue must be resolved as soon as possible."
On the prospect of transporting gas from the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe via Greece, the Prime Minister said: "Now, as far as gas from the Eastern Mediterranean is concerned, I think we have to look at all the options and we have to find the most economical way to transport to the European market the gas that exists in Cyprus, in Israel. Whatever solution is envisioned, it will certainly involve Greece."
In response to a question on Greek-Turkish relations, on the message he would like to send to his neighbour on the occasion of his visit to the outlying islands of the Dodecanese and whether he wishes to improve relations with Turkey, the Prime Minister said: "Greece will not tolerate aggressive behavior, revisionist rhetoric and actions that amount to violations of Greek sovereign rights and Greek sovereignty.
It is up to Turkey to change its behavior. We were never the ones who crossed the line, who showed aggression. We are absolutely sure, however, that we have the capacity to defend our country if the need arises. And we are also sure that we have allies who support us: the European Union, the United States.
I do not see why Turkey should complain every time we say that we are right, when we argue that our differences should be resolved on the basis of international law and that we cannot accept unreasonable claims regarding sovereignty over the Greek islands. Turkey should not be surprised when our allies, including in NATO, state the obvious: that we are right and that there is no other way to look at the issue than what we say."
Source: protothema.gr
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