ATHENS – Opposition PASOK-KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis, speaking late Monday at the extraordinary meeting of the European parliament’s environment committee in Brussels, noted the need for targeted measures for the protection of the most vulnerable citizens against the hike in energy rates due to the conflict in Ukraine.

In the presence of European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, the debate focused on the measures expected to be presented by the European Commission for ending the European economy’s dependence on Russian natural gas and addressing the price hike in energy.

Androulakis said that “it is a crisis that no country can deal with on its own”.

He added that the solution is the creation of common strategic reserves, infrastructure and pipelines, such as the EastMed, reducing the dependence on imported natural gas, as well as an immediate and substantial penetration of the renewable energy sources of the energy mix. “The stronger the penetration of the RES in our energy mix, the more resilient we will be in international crises,” underlined Androulakis.