Greece is spearheading an initiative to collaborate with other Balkan EU countries, such as Bulgaria and Romania, to address rising electricity rates in Southeastern Europe. This increase, which began in July, is becoming more permanent, and existing government subsidies are insufficient to mitigate its effects. Greece, along with its Balkan partners, aims to challenge the imbalance in energy costs between Southeastern and Western Europe, citing examples like Austria having significantly lower prices than neighboring Hungary.
Athens, Sofia, and Bucharest are urging the European Union to either improve energy flows from Western Europe to Ukraine or provide financial support to Balkan countries to protect consumers and businesses. This initiative follows a joint action by the industrial associations of the three countries in July, raising concerns about price discrepancies and unfair competition due to limited energy flows and algorithmic pricing mechanisms. The European Union’s response is currently under review by the Agency for the Cooperation of European Regulators (ACER).
