ATHENS (Reuters), – Greece will continue to provide financial aid to families, farmers, and businesses that are experiencing higher energy costs, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister, said Saturday.

prices have hit record highs in recent months, with energy demand outpacing supply as global economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing energy costs across Europe https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/can-joint-gas-buying-tackle-europes-high-prices-2021-12-13.

Greece took a number of measures to alleviate the crisis, such as subsidizing electricity bills for 4 months starting September and increasing a grant to low-income households for winter purchases.

Mitsotakis stated that “we have already built a strong wall to protect against rising energy costs,” during the parliamentary debate before voting on the budget for 2022.

He stated, “As a reaction to the new circumstances I’m announcing further measures.”

These will provide additional subsidies for low-income households and businesses, as well as discounts on their power bills. In addition, the government will cover large amounts of the electricity costs that farmers have incurred since August.

He said that the cost total of all relief measures (including those announced Saturday) is 1.35billion euros.