The former president and CEO of BP Hellas, Spyros Michalakakis, while speaking on Christina Kousouni’s show on Naftemporiki TV. Mr. Michalakakis warned of the imminent risk of social and economic collapse, describing government measures such as the «Fuels Pass» as completely inadequate given the scale of the crisis.
As he explained, Greece is seeing fuel price increases that far exceed the European average, both in the retail and wholesale markets. Citing Eurostat data, he emphasized that the price of gasoline in Europe rose by 16% after taxes, while in Greece it skyrocketed to 23%. At the same time, he made clear accusations of speculative maneuvers by major market players, while describing the operation of the domestic Energy Exchange as as «open to manipulation.».
The former head of BP sounded the alarm for Greek industry, whose competitiveness is being irreparably damaged. According to data from EBIKEN, Greek energy-intensive companies pay over 100€ per MWh for energy, while their competitors in Bulgaria and Germany purchase it for 50–60€. This is because Greece lacks basic storage infrastructure, with the result that cheap renewable energy production never reaches consumers.
In closing, Mr. Michalakakis emphasized that a radically different policy is needed. An immediate solution is to reduce excise taxes to provide relief to households and businesses, while in the medium to long term, there is an urgent need to invest in storage infrastructure and redesign the energy mix, so that the country can shield itself against international geopolitical turmoil.
Watch the video above for a detailed account of what Mr. Spyros Michalakakis said.
