Meloni Demands Lasting EU Fix for Soaring Energy Prices
(MENAFN) Giorgia Meloni pressed the European Union on Monday to move beyond stopgap measures and adopt long-term solutions to high energy costs, warning that the bloc risks staying trapped in permanent crisis mode.
Addressing the Assolombarda business association in Milan, Italy’s prime minister called for “structural and long-term responses” and said she would raise the question of flexibility at Thursday’s European Council summit, Italy’s national news agency reported.
She framed her plan as “a simple proposal based on common sense as well as responsibility.”
Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever also sent a joint letter to European Council President Antonio Costa, tying energy costs and regulatory streamlining to Europe’s industrial competitiveness. Per Italy’s prime minister’s office, the three leaders urged faster investment approvals in priority sectors such as energy and digitalization, an end to new bureaucratic burdens, and lighter corporate sustainability reporting rules, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Meloni also took aim at the EU’s emissions trading system, arguing it drives up prices, widens gaps between member states and hurts businesses.
Separately, Italian Deputy Environment Minister Vannia Gava asked the EU Environment Council in Luxembourg to weigh suspending the rollout of EU ETS 2. The separate cap-and-trade carbon pricing system covers direct CO2 emissions from fossil fuels used in road transport, buildings (heating) and small industrial sectors, and the report said it would apply to road transport and buildings from 2028.
EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra responded that the European Commission has no plans to change the timetable.
Meanwhile, during a visit to Rome, EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath said the Commission is working closely with governments to offer flexibility on rising living costs and the energy crisis while preserving fiscal sustainability.
Addressing the Assolombarda business association in Milan, Italy’s prime minister called for “structural and long-term responses” and said she would raise the question of flexibility at Thursday’s European Council summit, Italy’s national news agency reported.
She framed her plan as “a simple proposal based on common sense as well as responsibility.”
Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever also sent a joint letter to European Council President Antonio Costa, tying energy costs and regulatory streamlining to Europe’s industrial competitiveness. Per Italy’s prime minister’s office, the three leaders urged faster investment approvals in priority sectors such as energy and digitalization, an end to new bureaucratic burdens, and lighter corporate sustainability reporting rules, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Meloni also took aim at the EU’s emissions trading system, arguing it drives up prices, widens gaps between member states and hurts businesses.
Separately, Italian Deputy Environment Minister Vannia Gava asked the EU Environment Council in Luxembourg to weigh suspending the rollout of EU ETS 2. The separate cap-and-trade carbon pricing system covers direct CO2 emissions from fossil fuels used in road transport, buildings (heating) and small industrial sectors, and the report said it would apply to road transport and buildings from 2028.
EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra responded that the European Commission has no plans to change the timetable.
Meanwhile, during a visit to Rome, EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath said the Commission is working closely with governments to offer flexibility on rising living costs and the energy crisis while preserving fiscal sustainability.
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