Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has urged the European Commission to relax fiscal rules for households and industries struggling with soaring energy costs, arguing that energy security should be treated with the same urgency as defence spending.
In a letter sent on Monday to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen seen by Euronews, Meloni said the EU should show the same “political courage” on energy as it has on defence.
“If we rightly consider defence to be such a strategic priority as to justify the activation of the National Escape Clause, then we must have the political courage to recognise that today energy security is also a European strategic priority,” reads the letter seen by Euronews.
The appeal comes amid renewed fears of an energy shock as tensions escalate in the Middle East and concerns grow over potential disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route for oil and gas.
Across Europe, governments remain wary of a repeat of the energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which triggered factory shutdowns, soaring inflation and emergency state subsidies.
