Rome has set out a series of emergency measures to mitigate the rising energy costs caused by the war in Iran. After the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission is also set to argue that such broad and untargeted measures are ineffective, according to a document obtained by Euronews.
In recent weeks, the Italian government has been increasingly vocal in calling for the fiscal flexibility recently granted to defence spending to be extended to cover spiking energy costs — including in a letter sent by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
While von der Leyen has yet to reply to Meloni directly, the Commission is due to present its country-specific recommendations on Wednesday, one of the main tools of EU economic coordination and a key occasion to address fiscal policy.
According to an early draft of the recommendations seen by Euronews, Rome should "ensure that any measures taken to mitigate the impact of the hike in energy prices are temporary, targeted at protecting vulnerable households and addressing the needs of energy-intensive firms, preserve incentives for energy savings while ensuring that their fiscal cost is compatible with the recommended expenditure paths."
