Greek Energy Minister: Greece will use European funds to restart the economy

"Greece will make the most of European funds to restart the economy," Environment and Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis stated at the first informal video conference of EU Environment and Climate Ministers held on Tuesday.

The ministers discussed how to advance the green agenda in order to build a more sustainable and competitive policy during the Covid-19 pandemic’s aftermath, and Hatzidakis pointed out that “environmental and climate policies can contribute decisively to recovery.”

Speaking on the EU’s Recovery Plan which is currently under negotiation, Hatzidakis noted that "the overall proposal - a package for recovery, the so-called Recovery Plan - which was recently presented by the European Commission - has the potential to turn the current crisis into an opportunity to ensure a stable investment environment, which will create green growth and jobs, maintaining the goal of achieving a Europe-neutral climate by 2050."

The Minister stressed in his speech that "Greece is determined to contribute with all its forces to this international effort for sustainable development, as, after all, the Prime Minister of the country himself has made clear."

The Greek government’s policy priority remains the complete phase-out of lignite dependency for electricity production by 2023, said the minister, adding that the legal framework for electrokinesis to take off in Greece is near completion.