Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced a new €95 million electricity subsidy for industrial sectors, answering industry complaints that energy costs are eroding competitiveness, in a speech to the annual general assembly of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV).
Using state-aid margins and a temporary European safety net for crisis impacts, the government will immediately subsidize power in sectors including cement, food, paper and plastics, with extra support for energy-intensive firms beyond emissions-cost compensation.
"Extraordinary conditions call for extraordinary interventions," Mr. Mitsotakis said.
The move follows a joint statement by 16 industry bodies last month demanding activation of European tools for energy-intensive businesses.
SEV was notably absent from that resolution, highlighting differing views within the sector. It also adds to a €300 million industrial support package unveiled in April.
Mr. Mitsotakis said it was his seventh address to SEV as prime minister, and that Greece had moved "from the margins of Europe to its center."
He called Greece's falling debt and budget surpluses a "national arsenal" against shocks from Ukraine and the Strait of Hormuz, letting the government cushion fuel prices at or below the European average. Greece, he said, now borrows more cheaply than G7 countries.
He said he has asked the European Commission president to consider a common, time-limited response letting countries spend extra VAT revenue from inflation on temporary, targeted relief without breaking EU rules.
Mr. Mitsotakis flies to Croatia on Wednesday for a summit of the MED9 group of Mediterranean EU states, where energy, competitiveness and migration top the agenda.