European energy policy is based on flawed assumptions, and if the EU wants to support industry, it must give national governments more leeway, said, among other things, the chairman of the SEV Board of Directors, Spyros Theodoropoulos, in a discussion with the president of the Association of Mining Enterprises, Konstantinos Yiazitzoglou, during the Association’s Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at the Royal Olympic Hotel.
When asked by Mr. Yiazitzoglou at the start of the discussion about how much the issue of raw materials is troubling the industry amid a period where“the rules are being challenged,”given the BRICS’ position in the sector of critical and strategic raw materials, Mr. Theodoropoulos commented that the issue is not just about raw materials:
“We thought everything would be easy... we followed environmental policies that largely deindustrialized Europe; we decided on our own to save the planet... we decided to be a continent of services. Unfortunately, when you make decisions that aren’t well-considered, you come up against reality,” he said characteristically, pointing to the war in Ukraine, the bureaucracy in Brussels, the Draghi report, and the war in the Persian Gulf, which“tells us that deindustrialization was a mistake.”
Mr. Theodoropoulos spoke at length about energy costs, noting that, as Europe, “we are 3–6 times more expensive”than our major competitors, while pointing out that“we continue to be governed by an organization with 28 opinions… it cannot be fast or flexible.” He assessed that Europeis “waking up,”and things are better than they were four years ago, but still, it cannot move quickly or demonstrate flexibility, especially compared to competitors who have picked up speed.
The president of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) strongly criticized EU policies, referring to a meeting with a European commissioner years ago:“She told us clearly: I don’t want industry in Europe.” At this point, Mr. Yazitzoglou noted that Europe does not seem interested in industry, posing the question:“How easy is it for the king to admit on this issue that he is naked so he can change course? This requires something bold. Is there any hope?”
Mr. Theodoropoulos referred to a recent roundtable of major European companies, where it was found that only 6% of current investments are in Europe:“There are many disincentives for Europe and many incentives for other countries... competitiveness is a zero-sum game,”he said characteristically, noting that“we at the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) are trying to bring productivity into the public discourse—a measurable metric that can be compared with other countries.”
In this context, he referred to the segment of Greek society that struggles to make ends meet each month, commenting that“if we want to help, we must all work together to improve productivity.”
Focusing on the energy sector, the two speakers noted that“we have the most expensive energy in the world as Europe,”with Mr. Yatzitzoglou posing the question,“perhaps because this issue goes beyond the Greek government, should it be raised with Brussels?” and Mr. Theodoropoulos responding that if Europe had realized the need for industry, it should have given national governments room to help with the industry’s energy costs,“but they tightened the noose.”
At the same time, he spoke of flawed assumptions in European energy policy, emphasizing that we are not talking about a truly unified market. However, he noted that progress has been made in recent weeks, with more fiscal space, discussions on subsidies to reduce costs, and so on.
The president of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) also addressed spatial planning, stating that“we have been working with the ministry for a very long time,”the bill is expected, most issues“have been brought to a very satisfactory level,”and ultimately assessing that“we will have a good spatial planning framework for industry.”
“Industry cannot be established where it is not prohibited, but where it is explicitly permitted... the spatial planning framework provides guidelines; we wanted the guidelines to be clear—we wanted it to be very clear where industry can be established,”he emphasized, while describing the ambiguity in the laws as“one of the great scourges of our country.”
At the conclusion of the discussion, Mr. Theodoropoulos emphasized that, from the industry’s perspective,“we have not made a sufficient effort to highlight our contribution to the economy—tourism has done so... on our own issues, we do not have society as an ally, and this is something we will constantly face... politicians cannot go against their own constituents; our top priority is to reach out to society so they understand the importance.”
In this context, he pointed to the high salaries in the industry—above the national average—and the opportunity for anyone to build a secure life as an executive or employee:“We need to highlight this,”he noted, mentioning that a series of co-productions with SKAI is in the works for the industry, which will also feature the mining sector.
In fact, he referred to a visit he made to “Hellenic Gold,” saying characteristically that“I was speechless… truly, that idea was born that night; we simply cannot fail to showcase all of this… we need to gain a foothold in society if we want politicians to listen to us. As long as society views us as harmful pests, our messages won’t get through. We need to speak up more, stop feeling guilty... now we’re talking about valuable minerals like gallium. It’s an opportunity. Let’s speak up, let’s claim what belongs to us.”