Greece's Ministry of National Economy and Finance publishes Pierrakakis interview on Eurogroup Savings and Investment Union timetable and potential further energy price measures

Greece’s Ministry of National Economy and Finance published an interview with Minister of National Economy and Finance and Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis, combining an update on the Eurogroup’s push to accelerate EU financial integration with Greece’s approach to potential further interventions to cushion households and businesses from renewed energy-driven price pressures after the government announced a market price ceiling. Pierrakakis said a letter he sent to President Costa focuses on the Savings and Investment Union (framed as completion of the EU Capital Markets Union), the policy direction associated with the Draghi Report, and financial system digitisation including the digital euro, with an emphasis on putting these agendas on tight timetables. He linked delivery to removing barriers across EU capital markets, reducing duplicative cross-border regulatory checks, and enabling more cross-border bank mergers and acquisitions through simpler rules, citing Greece’s participation in the Euronext network and UniCredit’s involvement in Alpha Bank. On the domestic response, he said any additional measures would be assessed against the level and duration of market developments such as oil price moves, with the 2022 energy-crisis toolkit still available if needed. He also noted that, under the EU’s new fiscal framework, any new interventions would need to fit within the applicable spending rule rather than rely on a broad general escape clause.