Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis highlighted the transformation of the Public Power Corporation (PPC) during his address on Wednesday to the "Power Summit 2024: Lights On" taking place in Attica, organised by the federation of the European electricity industry Eurelectric in the seaside resort of Lagonissi.
"What happened with the PPC is just an example of the broader transformation of Greece in the last five years. When we took over power in July 2019, the country was devastated by a decade-long economic crisis. We had paid a very high price for the fact that [the country] had believed in populist fantasies. In 2015, we almost exited the eurozone. The economy was stagnant. We had the lowest growth rate in the eurozone between 2015 and 2019. Young Greeks showed their disgust by leaving the country, seeking more opportunities abroad," Mitsotakis said.
He also noted that the PPC under the leadership of Chairman and CEO Georgios Stassis had been transformed into a key regional player.
"The situation today is very, very different. Our growth rate is double the EU average and the forecasts steadily indicate high growth rates in the foreseeable future. We have reduced our public debt more than any other European country since 2019. Nobody questions Greece's commitment to fiscal discipline. Investments, industrial production, exports are all thriving. Rating agencies have restored the Greek credit rating to investment grade, after more than a decade," Mitsotakis said.
The Greek prime minister noted that the country could become a major net exporter of power in the coming years. "This is already happening for some hours but as long as we fully exploit our capabilities, these hours will multiply," he added.
"Going a step further than our national borders, we were also able to influence the European agenda for energy," Mitsotakis said, noting that this was an indication that Greece was no longer viewed as the "problem child" of Europe but was able to influence policy on a European level, not just a national level.
The prime minister also referred to the EU Green Deal, noting that this must coexist with other urgent issues, and pointed at what he called a "fundamental discontinuity" in the funds rightly allocated for alleviating the repercussions of climate change - in support of the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 - and the resources earmarked for adapting to climate change.
"We are on the front line of the climate crisis here. Last year in Greece, we not only experienced heatwaves and fires - we are used to fires - but this was the first time we experienced exceptionally catastrophic flooding on such a scale. All this happened in the space of a few months," he pointed out.
"When natural disasters occur in the country, I cannot go to farmers and simply talk to them about precision agriculture and replacing their tractors with electric tractors. They need support. We must realise that tackling climate change will also require a significant adjustment of financing in the coming years," he added.
Commenting on the upcoming European elections, he expressed hope that the "forces of reason and moderation will again prevail", stressing the need to ensure "that we have the right allies to promote reasonable changes and to restrict the influence of the extremes. My conviction and the conviction of Greece is that we need more Europe, not less. Some believe we must slow down the energy transition. I am not among them. It is an economic, strategic and geopolitical imperative," Mitsotakis said.
"We must, however, carry out a prudent transition, which perhaps allows the member states a little more space to experiment and choose the course that fits the particular conditions in each one. It is important to remain flexible and be pragmatical and not too dogmatic," he added.