The high cost of energy was the focus of the first General Council of SEV, which was attended by Energy Minister Th. Skylakakis, with the association calling on the government to exhaust all possibilities to reduce energy costs.

It was stressed that electricity prices are high in our country, while concerns were also expressed about the imminent increases in network usage charges. At the same time, it was stressed that the high energy costs make it difficult to make investments in Greek industry and affect large companies that are exposed to international competition, thus damaging their competitiveness. Besides, the high energy costs have been highlighted by SEV as one of the main problems of Greek industry, and the need for immediate measures has been pointed out many times.

For his part, the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, in response to SEV's demands, referred, among other things, to the deficit that exists at the European level, noting that at the moment there is no interlocutor in the EU. Mr. Skylakakis also referred to the recent letter from the leaders of the European People's Party, which pointed out that Europe is called upon to find a balance between "green" policies and international competitiveness.

At the same time, he said that there is no room for further subsidies for industry and refrained from making predictions on energy prices in the coming period. He said that the wholesale market is maintaining high levels due to exports while indications are converging on falling gas prices.