Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis travels to Brussels on Thursday for a summit of European Union leaders, where he will press for lower energy prices and targeted, temporary help for households and small businesses ahead of a difficult winter, Greek officials said.
Mr. Mitsotakis will argue that unrest around the Strait of Hormuz has driven up energy costs, and that any relief must preserve fiscal stability while markets remain nervous. He will also say the green transition is a long-term goal and that Europe should revisit its energy-security policy, since climate rules were designed when energy was cheap. He will ask whether Europe can afford high industrial energy costs, the green transition and fiscal discipline all at once, and urge completion of the EU energy market and more cross-border links.
On competitiveness, he will say the new energy shock highlights Europe's gap with rivals and push full implementation of the Letta and Draghi reports, adding that progress on simplifying rules and on the proposed "28th regime" for companies is unsatisfactory.
In talks on the EU's next seven-year budget, now based on a revised draft from the Irish presidency, Athens will insist that new priorities such as defense, security and research not be funded at the expense of cohesion funds and farm subsidies, and will reject further cuts there. It is open to new EU-level revenue sources if costs do not fall disproportionately on poorer states.
On enlargement, Greece sees it as an investment in security but one that depends on candidates' performance, and opposes changing EU decision-making rules, officials said. On migration, Athens welcomes Commission support for its proposed emergency mechanism for mass arrivals and weaponized migration.
Mr. Mitsotakis also faces elections next year. Greece takes over the EU presidency in the second half of 2027.