The European Union’s Council of Energy Ministers, meeting today in Luxembourg, approved the European Commission’s new European Grids Package (European Grids Package), which had been presented on December 10, 2025.
These regulations bear a strong Greek influence, as the Greek government had already highlighted, as early as 2023, the need to treat electricity grids as a European—and not exclusively a national—matter. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in January 2025, in which he called for a new European strategy on cross-border energy infrastructure.
At the same time, the Minister of Environment and Energy, Stavros Papastavrou, and the Deputy Minister, Nikos Tsafos, consistently promoted the same positions in the relevant European councils during the negotiations. In his remarks to the Council of Ministers earlier today, Mr. Papastavrou emphasized:
“Greece has been a staunch supporter from day one. We supported this Regulation, not because we consider it perfect, but because we believe it paves the way for a stronger internal energy market and a stronger Energy Union, something that is absolutely necessary.”
As he noted, strengthening energy integration is a prerequisite for ensuring affordable and secure energy for European citizens, while he warned that it would be a “huge disappointment” if the Council failed to reach an agreement on the regulation.
“We all have comments to make. But the big picture is that this is a positive step toward better coordination of the European internal energy market. I believe a good balance has been struck between cooperation and the autonomy of member states,” he noted.
He also made special mention of the need to protect critical energy infrastructure, noting that threats to undersea cables and cross-border energy networks do not concern only Russia, but originate from multiple directions, making a common European strategy for resilience and security essential.
Today’s approval confirms that the European Union is now adopting an approach that Greece had long ago identified as necessary for the completion of the Energy Union.
European Planning with a Greek Approach
At its core, the Grids Package introduces a new philosophy for the planning of energy networks in Europe. It calls for greater coordination at the European Union level, faster permitting procedures, simplified rules for cross-border projects, and a fairer distribution of costs among the member states that benefit from the new infrastructure.
This approach is largely in line with Greece’s positions, as it treats interconnections as European projects of strategic importance rather than purely national investments. At the same time, particular emphasis is placed on making the most of existing networks, enhancing system flexibility, and better integrating renewable energy sources, as the growing generation of electricity from renewables requires significantly stronger interconnections at the European level.
Three projects of interest to Greece among the eight “Energy Highways”
Of particular importance to Greece is the fact that three of the eight strategic projects (“Energy Highways”) identified as priorities by the European Commission directly concern the country. These are the Trans-Balkan Pipeline, whose reverse flow is a key pillar of the Vertical Gas Corridor; the electricity interconnection between Greece and Cyprus (Great Sea Interconnector—GSI), which will end Cyprus’s energy isolation, as well as the strengthening of electricity interconnections in Southeast Europe, along the Hungary - Romania - Bulgaria - Greece, with the aim of enhancing security of supply and stabilizing prices in the wider region.
Why Europe is investing in power grids
The European Commission describes electricity grids as the “backbone” of the European energy market. Today, the European power grid spans more than 11 million kilometers, making it one of the largest and most reliable interconnected systems in the world.
However, demand is growing rapidly. The transition to clean energy, electric mobility, the electrification of industry, and the continued growth of renewable energy sources have led to an unprecedented increase in requests to connect new projects to the grids.
According to the European Commission, approximately 40% of Europe’s distribution grids are over 40 years old, while cross-border electricity transmission capacity will need to double by 2030. For this reason, it is estimated that investments of hundreds of billions of euros will be required over the coming decades to modernize and expand European networks.
With today’s approval of the Grids Package, the European Union is taking a significant step toward more coordinated planning of energy infrastructure. This development strengthens Europe’s competitiveness, resilience, and energy security, confirming Greece’s strategic choice to treat interconnections as a European—rather than exclusively national—matter.
Three-Year Deferral for the Methane Emissions Regulation
At the same time, at the Energy Ministers’ Council, Greece supported the joint initiative for a three-year postponement of the implementation of the Methane Regulation (Methane Regulation), highlighting the need to give the market and the competent authorities more time to adapt, without undermining the overall European goal of reducing methane emissions in the energy sector.
The relevant non-paper was supported by 18 European Union member states, highlighting broad European support for a more realistic and feasible transition to the new regulatory framework.