"The upcoming elections are of great value in terms of claiming resources from Europe," Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Nikos Papathanasis said at the Balkan Energy Forum in Kozani. Papathanasis stressed that "Greece's public investment programme for 2024 amounts to 12.2 billion euros and is the largest in the last 14 years.". Of these, 8 billion come from European funds, and thus "we are financing, either through the Recovery Fund or the NSRF, programs of everyday life for citizens, from issues related to health prevention to actions related to energy saving."

The Deputy Minister of National Economy explained that Greece is the first country to receive financial assistance through the plan submitted for the Fair Development Transition, amounting to 1.6 billion euros, and that "Europe is watching us, and we must succeed in not losing a single euro that could change the image of Western Macedonia.".

He also mentioned that "Western Macedonia receives from the Fair Transition Fund 67% of the resources, and for the period 2021–27, it received an increased NSRF of 394 million euros.". At the same time, a national development programme for western Macedonia worth €126 million is also running.

Papathanasis referred to the Small Business Support Programme of the Fair Transition Fund, whose call was completed a few days ago, where 840 business plans worth €72 million were submitted. Western Macedonia has 619 projects with a budget of €52 million. According to the investment plans, 1600 new jobs are foreseen, of which 1197 are in Western Macedonia. Mr. Papathanasis expressed his optimism that in the large programme of 280 million euros for large enterprises, which will be open until June 30, "large enterprises wishing to establish themselves in the region will express their interest.".

The Deputy Minister of Interior responsible for Macedonia and Thrace, Stathis Konstantinidis, said that "for the first time, the energy forum is taking place outside Thessaloniki, and also for the first time, apart from its conference character, it has an exhibition dimension, with the participation of business universities and investors in the fields of electrification, hydrogen production, and CO2 capture.".

Referring to the issue of degassing, he said that "we need to change the identity of our place and that this will be done with the help of the tools we have in our hands.".

"We have the burden of responsibility for what is happening in the region," he said, asking local government, investors, and institutions "to jointly create new components for western Macedonia."