BRUSSELS – Alternate Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis on Friday stressed the need for all countries to agree on a cap for the price of natural gas, which will relieve the tension in the Energy Exchange.

Varvitsiotis made the statement upon his arrival at the General Affairs Council in Brussels.

The General Affairs Council is meeting under the weight of all the major challenges – the war in Ukraine and energy prices, which “although they have somewhat dropped remain high,” Varvitsiotis said.

“Europe has not yet figured out how to deal with this inflationary and energy crisis as a whole. That is why we insist on the proposals submitted by the Greek prime minister, some of which have already been adopted by the Commission in the proposals it makes to the Council. However, the rest of the member-states and especially Germany must accept that limiting prices through a “price cap”, through a price corridor, will be able to relieve this great tension, which is visible today on the Energy Exchange,” he said.

At the same time, the General Affairs Council will discuss issues related to the Southern Neighborhood and the Mediterranean. “We will once again present not only the Turkish provocations but also the initiatives we undertake through trilateral and multilateral schemes, to bring the Mediterranean countries closer to Europe. It is important for us that the Southeast Mediterranean becomes an area of cooperation. Very important for Europe as well, because from there it can draw crucial energy resources,” noted Varvitsiotis.

(ANA-MPA/M. Aroni)