KINAL's Androulakis slams government's management of energy crisis

Nikos Androulakis, President of the opposition PASOK-KINAL coalition, criticised the government on Thursday over the way it is managing the hike in energy prices and the lack of comprehensive policies that would address the energy issue in the country.

Androulakis said that "the government with its choices made Greece the only country in Europe that increased its reliance on natural gas by 25 percent in the production of electricity during the crisis".

The KINAL president also said that "a set of measures is necessary immediately that would protect the most vulnerable households and the country's competitiveness.

"The decisions of the European Commission give us the right to implement policies that Mr. Mitsotakis was dismissive of, until yesterday," he added.

Meanwhile, main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance spokesperson Nassos Iliopoulos, said that "Mr Mitsotakis, with his refusal to intervene in energy pricing policy, is subsidising the excessive profits of the energy companies with the Greek people's money."

He added in his interview with Ionian TV late Wednesday that Mitsotakis should finally stop deceiving Greek society.

Iliopoulos criticised the government for the abrupt phasing out of lignite, which increased the country's dependence on the natural gas, underlining that "only two of the seven lignite plants we have that are licenced [to operate] until 2028 were working last week."

Concluding, he said that what is needed is an immediate reduction of the special tax on fuel and oil, control of profiteering, intervention in the Public Power Corporation's pricing policy and an increase in the minimum wage.

He also suggested settlements and write-offs of pandemic debts so as to provide some respite to small and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in a letter to the President of the European Commission, has already requested action to put a "brake" on the increase in gas prices.

Mitsotakis also secured the adoption of a provision for a package to absorb fluctuations in energy prices for households and businesses.

READ MORE: PRICE CRISIS: Greece achieving most EU recommendations on energy.