Meloni says structural, long-term solutions needed for energy

(ANSA) - ROME, 12 OTT - Premier Giorgia Meloni said Monday that structural, long-term solutions from Italy and the European Union are needed for energy and she would personally re-present the issue of granting greater budget leeway for inflation at the next European summit. "If we do not build structural, long-term solutions, we risk remaining at the mercy of the emergency," Meloni said regarding high energy costs while addressing the Assolombarda assembly in Milan. "In recent years, the government has allocated over 60 billion euros to protect Italians from high energy costs, but this is emergency management; structural, long-term solutions are needed," Meloni emphasized. She noted measures such as the reduction of bill surcharges, the elimination of the price gap between Italian and European gas, and mechanisms like "gas release" and "energy release. "When tensions in the Middle East and along Gulf shipping routes caused fuel prices to skyrocket," she recalled, "the government intervened by cutting excise duties, implementing sliding-scale excise adjustments, and abolishing the vehicle ownership tax for certain cars; it also called on major energy companies to curb prices—a request to which several companies responded positively." In her speech, Meloni also noted that installed renewable energy capacity "has grown by nearly 40%" and that domestic oil and gas production has been revitalized, arguing that "it makes little sense to buy them from thousands of kilometers away when we can extract a portion here in Italy." Meloni said she would personally raise the issue of flexibility again at the upcoming EU Council meeting, reiterating that the crisis is driving up costs and fueling inflation that is "beyond our control. "Europe must acknowledge that the crisis in Iran, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and instability in the Red Sea are driving up the costs of energy, raw materials, and transport. "Above all, they are fueling inflation that is beyond our control yet weighs heavily on families, production systems, and public finances. "Europe cannot ignore this: when we approved our national budget plans, we did so based on a projected inflation rate of 1.8%, but today inflation is much higher. "In Italy, as in other nations, a significant portion of expenditure automatically adjusts to inflation by law. "This means billions of euros in additional spending without the government having made any new decisions, and for reasons beyond our control; yet, that spending consumes the fiscal space allowed by European rules, taking it away from everything else—businesses, investments, and growth," she added. "(Economy) Minister (Giancarlo) Giorgetti discussed this at the ECOFIN meeting a few days ago, and I will personally raise the issue again at the European Council scheduled for this Thursday and Friday: it is a simple, common-sense proposal, as well as a responsible one." Meloni said the EU needs to change course on energy and that the ETS system creates imbalances. According to Meloni, "a change of pace is needed in Europe, too," to contain energy costs. "The ETS system," she explained at the Assolombarda assembly in Milan, "inflates prices, creates imbalances among member states, and harms our businesses, which face competitors not subject to the same constraints." "If a steel mill closes in Lombardy and we buy that steel from the other side of the world—produced under lower environmental standards—the planet loses rather than gains. "We lose jobs and supply chains without reducing global emissions," she emphasized. "Strategic autonomy is built on steel mills, foundries, and chemical plants. We are working on this in Europe; it won't be an easy negotiation, but we will do our part, as always." (ANSA).
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