Konstantinos Xifaras, CEO at DESFA, Greece’s natural gas grid operator, told an energy conference in Athens today he hopes Greece will remain a European Union and eurozone member.

Offering his comments at a conference titled “Natural Gas Market Penetration in Greece”, organized by the ESCP Europe business school’s Research Center for Energy Managament (RCEM), Xifaras described both the European Union and eurozone membership as key economic alliances.

Xifaras added that DESFA is investing in Greece and hopes new projects and transit gas pipelines will be developed, while noting that all this activity will require the country remaining a part of the European family.

The DESFA chief said Greece’s continuation within the EU will benefit the country as virtually all projects are supported by European financing.

Xifaras, who made his comments as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his negotiating team appear to be pushing for a last-minute bailout deal with the bankruptcy-threatened country’s creditor representatives, also said he hoped DESFA will participate in the development of prospective pipeline projects to cross through Greece.