Energy crisis, Meloni asks for leeway from EU rules

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asks Brussels for more room to cope with rising energy prices. In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Meloni argues that EU fiscal rules are limiting governments’ ability to help families and businesses.

According to Meloni, the prolonged crisis in the Middle East has significantly tightened European energy markets. The price of oil has risen by around 80 per cent, while gas by up to 156 per cent, adding pressure on the economy and household spending.

Meloni asks that part of the additional tax revenues, created automatically by rising prices and inflation, be usable for temporary and targeted measures to lower energy costs.

In her view, the problem is that the new EU rules set limits on the growth of public spending, even when inflation automatically raises some of it, such as pensions and other price-linked obligations.

Italy, which has one of the highest levels of public debt relative to its economy in the EU, is asking for the issue to be discussed at the meeting of EU finance ministers on 9 October. Meloni stresses that Rome supports the objective of debt sustainability, but asks for more flexibility to cope with the energy crisis.