A heated confrontation occurred between Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou and his Swedish counterpart, Ebba Busch. The Greek energy minister reacted strongly against Sweden, emphasizing the need for Europe to show cohesion while highlighting the necessity for a common grid plan. During the Energy Ministers Council meeting, Sweden threatened to withdraw from the EU’s Energy Union as a negotiating tool, as it remains dissatisfied with the idea of having a common European electricity grid plan.
“If the direction does not change, we will have to reconsider Sweden’s role in the Energy Union. I strongly support the concept of the European Union. We must invest all sustainable national measures to protect Swedish citizens and companies, and this includes a memorandum for interconnections for Europe and renewal of existing interconnections, and we have prepared for tougher actions,” the Swedish Energy Minister specifically emphasized.
Papastavrou’s response to Swedish counterpart: “Ultimatums are not how we operate”
“Europeans expect the European Council talks for direction and a common response to challenges,” noted Stavros Papastavrou from his side. “In this sense, we fully support and welcome what the European Commission has presented to us. With all respect to my Swedish colleague, ultimatums are not the way we operate at this moment. By working as a team, we can react with greater force in solving the emerging crisis,” he added.
“There is an elephant in the room regarding the European program, and that is the inequalities in electricity markets. If you don’t see it, we do, and we were two years ago among those countries in southeastern Europe where prices were twice as high compared to the rest of Europe. There was a wall in electricity prices. And this divided us and was far beyond economics – this posed a challenge to the cohesion of the European project. Even now when we need to react, and when people talk about the scenario of a common European strategy, this is not something that will be formulated by the Commission alone – this will be created by all our member states. We need to be united, and I understand there will be tough decisions for countries like Sweden, but we need to pay the price for a common energy market – we don’t have a common energy market. We must be coordinated! What would Delors say?” Mr. Papastavrou concluded.
