Meloni Asks EU to Treat Energy Crisis Like Defence, Relax Fiscal Rules
Meloni says energy security should get the same fiscal flexibility as defence, warning higher costs are squeezing households, factories and Italy’s support for EU borrowing plans.
- On May 17, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen requesting that the National Escape Clause be extended to cover extraordinary energy costs alongside defense spending.
- Escalating tensions in the Middle East and concerns over Strait of Hormuz shipping have triggered energy price volatility, prompting Rome to seek fiscal parity between energy and defense spending under the Stability and Growth Pact rules.
- Italy faces acute pressure after narrowly missing its 3 per cent deficit target for 2025, and Meloni warned that without flexibility, the Italian Government would struggle to justify supporting the €150 billion Security Action for Europe program.
- Brussels responded cautiously, with Commission spokesman Olof Gill stating the institution's position has not changed, as it prefers maintaining fiscal discipline rather than utilizing the National Safeguard Clause for energy-related budgetary deviations.
- While northern 'frugal' states advocate for fiscal discipline, Italy is pursuing a strategic shift including its first return to nuclear energy in four decades, signaling a long-term industrial energy strategy.
38 Articles
38 Articles
Italy rethinks EU defense-financing aid as arms spending falls out of fashion
ROME — Italy is considering backing out of a second EU-supported boost to defense spending, taking to about €27 billion ($31 billion) the amount of rearmament cash it could forego as it focuses on tackling soaring energy costs.Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has told EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen that Italy may pass on the offer of €14.9 billion in cheap, so-called SAFE loans from Brussels which could prove essential to pushing …
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on Monday 18 May a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, calling for a relaxation of European budgetary rules in the face of the energy crisis caused by the war in the Middle East, says BFM. The fear of an "economic and social shock" Giorgia Meloni asks to exclude from the Stability Pact "extraordinary investments and measures" in the face of rising prices. She wishe…
mannheim24.de
op-online.deThe negotiations seek Berlin's support.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has urged the EU to extend fiscal flexibility rules linked to the energy crisis, warning that Italy’s participation in the SAFE program could otherwise be at risk, according to ANSA News Agency.
Being able to spend more on energy with the same margins as for defence: but it is very unlikely that it will succeed
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