Financial Times: Mitsotakis’ letter to von der Leyen–Calls for European solution to energy market distortions

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has urged the European Commission to address distortions and fragmentation in the European energy market, which led to significant discrepancies in wholesale electricity prices between Southeastern Europe and other EU countries during the summer, according to the Financial Times. This move follows his earlier statements at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).

In his letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Mitsotakis highlights that the inefficiencies in the European market resulted in sudden and substantial price increases. He calls on Brussels to provide an immediate “political response” to the “prolonged crisis.”

According to the report, Mitsotakis requests that the EU take action to enhance cross-border energy transmission capacity, specifically by strengthening interconnections between member states. He also emphasizes the need for better oversight of the European market, which he describes as a “black box” that is “incomprehensible even to experts.”

The letter also notes that beyond seasonal factors, such as heatwaves and droughts affecting wholesale pricing, the energy infrastructure damage caused by Russian attacks on Ukraine is now influencing prices. Ukraine, which previously exported energy, is now importing large quantities of electricity from the EU. “This is yet another cost that Russia’s devastating war is imposing on our economies,” Mitsotakis states.

Countries like Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Croatia also faced sudden wholesale energy price spikes during the summer months, with the FT reporting that prices in Southeastern Europe more than doubled.

Mitsotakis’ call for action comes shortly after former European Central Bank President and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi proposed radical changes to the energy market and the pricing system in his much-anticipated report on EU competitiveness, submitted to von der Leyen.