2024-02-29 03:22:01
The strategic expansion actions of the Greek electricity company PPC in Southeastern Europe are turning into a powerful tool of economic diplomacy for Greece and its interests in the extended region, writes the Greek publication Energy Press.
Energy transport via HVDCPhoto: Costfoto / ddp USA / Profimedia
The PPC Group thus becomes the most active ambassador for the promotion of the economic and energy interests of Greece in the neighborhood, in a sector where the control of corridors and energy resources is equivalent to geopolitical power, a fact that does not go unnoticed by international factors.
We see this happening more and more recently through the contacts that the PPC leadership, through Executive Director Georgios Stassis, has with government officials both in the wider region and on the other side of the Atlantic.
Both the meeting that the Greek manager had ten days ago in Washington with the US Deputy Secretary of State responsible for Energy Resources, Geoffrey Pyatt, and the meeting two days ago in Bucharest with the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu show the role as a diplomatic tool that the PPC currently plays.
In the American capital, G. Stassis’ discussion with Geoffrey Pyatt about the active role that the group can play through the great energy corridors of Eastern Europe and the “Three Seas Initiative” (3S), i.e. the initiative of the 13 countries around the Baltic Sea, The Black Seas and the Adriatic Seas, which, with the support of the US, aim to shield themselves against the threat of Russia, highlight exactly the increased role of Greece.
Through strategic expansions, the Americans see that Greece is gradually positioning itself in the region and that its actions are in line with their geostrategic interests at a time when the war in Ukraine has shifted their interest to strengthening Eastern Europe against Russian influence. The fact that at this juncture, PPC acquires a presence on the strategic energy corridor that starts from Greece, crosses Bulgaria and ends in Romania, increases the importance of Athens in the eyes of the Americans. And the special importance of Greece increases through the PPC.
The approach of the Romanians
Romanians look the same way. In the energy sector and in the economic sector in general, the Romanians have had relations for decades with the Italians, who consider the Balkans as their vital space, their area of influence, an approach they do not hide in their business relations.
Now, in their country, a new player has appeared from the Balkans, that is, from the same region as them, with a more modest profile than the Italians, but which is committed to investing three times more capital in renewable energy sources, that is, to build a capacity of 1.5 GW instead of the 500 MW envisaged by Enel when it was still present in Romania.
The fact that G. Stassis was the keynote speaker at the annual ZF Power Summit 2024 yesterday was no coincidence. And it is even more interesting that the hosts of the panel, in addition to the questions about PPC’s plans and how the company sees the Romanian market or the importance of the Balkan energy corridor, gave Greece as an example to follow and praised its successes in the economic and energy field.
“We see that Greece asserts itself as a European champion in the green transition, that it has a very good performance in absorbing European funds, in installing new SRE projects, performances that should wake up our own companies, since nothing similar is happening and in Romania”, were the words of the coordinator. A valuable comment when coming from a country that for years has one of the highest growth rates in the EU, has managed to skyrocket the living standards of its inhabitants, and the resilience of its economy is often cited by international organizations and analysts.
And since the human factor always plays a role in business relations, it is interesting that Georgios Stassis, addressing the Romanian audience, referred to the importance of Romania, as a very important country on the external border of Europe, with stable governance, strong economic prospects and great opportunities.
Stassis talked about the energy corridor of the Balkans, saying that it will be a win-win project for the two countries (Greece, Romania), he talked about the synergies in the SRE field (e.g. when the wind does not blow in one country, it blows in the other) and of course about PPC’s plans to make investments worth 2.5 billion euros in Romania. It should be noted that through the above investments, the former Enel Romania could go from an EBITDA of 200-300 million euros, which it traditionally had, to 500 million euros.
Article made with the support of Rador Radio Romania
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