Greece’s Minister of Environment and Energy, Kostas Skrekas has proposed that the European Union create a multi-billion-euro fund to deal with the soaring costs of natural gas.
In his letter to the Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans and the Commissioner for Energy of the European Union, Kadri Simson, Skrekas proposed the fund be resourced through the creation of a special levy of 10 euros per megawatt hour on gas consumed by electricity producers.
Συμμετείχα στη Διεθνή Διάσκεψη για το Φυσικό Αέριο στο Βουκουρέστι & παρουσίασα:
— Kostas Skrekas | Κώστας Σκρέκας (@KostasSkrekas) September 22, 2022
-Tη στρατηγική της Κυβέρνησης για την ενεργειακή μας επάρκεια
-Τον ολοκληρωμένο σχεδιασμό για την επιτάχυνση της πράσινης μετάβασης
-Τη σημασία της περιφερειακής συνεργασίας στον τομέα της ενέργειας pic.twitter.com/WxwcUTEbmC
According to estimates based on 2021 consumption rates, the Energy Minister pointed out that an amount of €9 billion could be collected annually across the EU.
“The €9 billion in revenue could be combined with a low-interest loan from the European Investment Bank of €80 billion, which would be serviced by the annual revenue of the special levy,” he added.
According to Greece’s Ministry of Environment and Energy, the revenues collected in the fund will be used to: support vulnerable households and businesses affected by rising natural gas prices, decrease dependence on Russia for energy needs and encourage a move towards greener energy.
Skrekas’ proposal comes as just last week, Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a further 5.5billion euros will be spent to support Greek households and businesses buffeted by the energy crisis and high inflation.
READ MORE: Greek Energy Minister welcomes EU decision to cut gas consumption by 15%
