Mitsotakis announces dual intervention on heating oil as energy pressures mount
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a planned dual intervention to reduce the cost of heating oil, including a subsidy at the pump and a horizontal increase in the heating allowance, as Greece prepares for a difficult winter amid heightened geopolitical and energy pressures.
Speaking during his meeting with President Konstantinos Tasoulas at the Presidential Mansion on Friday, September 18, Mitsotakis said heating oil had become the government’s “first priority,” particularly for households in northern Greece, where heating needs are generally higher.
The prime minister said the measures would combine state and refinery support at the pump with an increase in the heating allowance. The detailed measures were expected to be announced by the relevant ministries at the beginning of the following week.
“Our aim is for the price to be lower than where it closed last April,” Mitsotakis said, while also stressing that the government was seeking to continue support for diesel.
Energy costs and a difficult winter
Mitsotakis described the international environment as one of unprecedented geopolitical turbulence, pointing to the continuing war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East and disruptions affecting oil markets.
He said attacks on refineries had contributed to higher prices for refined products, with diesel prices rising particularly sharply. The government therefore intends to prioritize measures aimed at easing pressure on households during the winter.
The prime minister had already indicated in a September 17 interview that the government was preparing an intervention in heating oil prices and a horizontal increase in the heating allowance, while confirming that diesel support would be extended into October.
Greece seeks EU flexibility on fuel taxation
Mitsotakis also raised the issue of Greece’s Special Consumption Tax on fuels, saying the government could not unilaterally reduce the tax without either cutting another expenditure or increasing another source of taxation.
He said Greece would instead seek a temporary European exemption allowing member states to reduce taxation on fossil fuels during the period of elevated energy prices.
“I will personally raise the issue at the European Council,” Mitsotakis said, while acknowledging that he could not predict whether the effort would succeed.
He argued that European action was necessary alongside the bloc’s longer-term transition away from imported oil and toward renewable energy, saying households needed support while facing immediate increases in fuel and heating costs.
Mitsotakis highlights Greece’s borrowing position
The prime minister also addressed turbulence in international bond markets, arguing that Greece had remained relatively insulated from the pressures affecting the sovereign debt of several other countries.
According to Mitsotakis, Greece’s fiscal discipline has strengthened investor confidence, allowing the country to borrow at interest rates that he said were currently lower than those of the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Italy.
He also pointed to Greece’s economic growth, which he said was running above the European average, as well as continued fiscal surpluses and debt repayment. These factors, he argued, provide the government with greater room to support households if energy pressures persist.
President Tasoulas, for his part, linked international developments to their effects on household finances and said the government’s planned intervention on heating oil would provide relief during the winter. He also expressed support for efforts to seek greater European flexibility on fuel taxation, while emphasizing the importance of maintaining fiscal stability.
The measures on heating oil and the heating allowance are expected to be further specified by the government in the coming days.
