The Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Costa, and the leader of the Greek opposition party PASOK-KINAL, Nikos Androulakis, met on Monday at the headquarters of the Portuguese Socialists Party in Lisbon.
According to a PASOK-KINAL announcement, Costa and Androulakis discussed a wide range of issues that included the economy, tackling price hikes in energy with active policies that protect the citizens from profiteering, the social housing plan already implemented in Portugal as well as the new geopolitical facts created by the Russian invasion to Ukraine.
Androulakis referred to the Greek government's reluctance to tax the excessive profits of energy companies and to take emergency measures, such as lowering VAT on staple goods in the months of higher inflation.
They also underlined the importance of energy interconnections, as well as the high participation of renewable energy sources in the production of electricity (in Portugal renewables exceed 60 percent), something Spain and Portugal were able to use to their advantage at the recent EU Summit.
Both agreed that social-democratic forces must play a key role and strengthen their presence in European institutions, so that there is greater solidarity in order to promote a common policy in foreign affairs, defence and security and common financing tools for addressing inequality, coping with the energy crisis and promoting growth.
Finally, Costa invited Androulakis to attend the events for the 50-year anniversary since the establishment of the Portuguese Socialist Party in 2023.
In statements afterwards, Androulakis said that the meeting with Costa "was held at a very crucial moment for the future of the EU, with the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and, of course, rising inequality".
"I believe that the ideas of socialdemocracy are useful ideas, so that we have solidarity policies. Policies that will be formed in order for Europe to acquire a common defence and security and common financing tools to deal with the energy crisis that undermines the future of the most vulnerable Europeans, as well as the European economy and competitiveness," he said.