ATHENS – “The government welcomes the fact that the European Council that met on Thursday in Brussels reached an agreement in principle on the package of joint actions aimed at reducing energy prices, including the decision to set a cap on the price of natural gas,” government spokesperson Yiannis Oikonomou said on Monday during a press briefing.

“The responsibility now passes to the Council of Energy Ministers, which meets tomorrow in order for the ministers to specify the relevant proposals required… [so that the announcements] can be implemented,” he added.

Oikonomou underlined that as soon as the EU’s intention to take action became apparent, the price of natural gas in international markets significantly declined. “It’s clear that even the threat of setting a cap on gas prices worked,” he said.

The government spokesperson explained that this was the result of a long effort, in which the Greek government took the lead and was subsequently supported by a series of European countries that gradually increased as “the rightness of our case was self-evident.”

Oikonomou also pointed out that the Greek government is determined to continue supporting households and businesses for as long as the energy crisis lasts. “We will exhaust every fiscal margin that will be created but we will not violate it,” he stressed.