Italy’s Meloni says high energy prices are key challenge for her government

By Giovanni Legorano

ROME (AA) - Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday said that high energy costs are the major economic challenge for her government.

In a speech at the annual meeting of Italian business lobby Confindustria in Bologna, Meloni said her government was assessing whether the high prices were the result of speculation.

“The government is working on an analysis of the functioning of the Italian market to understand whether possible anomalies in the formation of the unique national price could be the cause of unjustified price increases,” she said.

“If there were speculations on the backs of who produces and creates employment, it would be unacceptable.”

Her remarks followed a speech at the same event of Confindustria’s President Emanuele Orsini, who warned that Italian companies need lower energy costs to survive and be competitive with European peers.

"Our companies continue to suffer from an energy (price) surcharge of more than 35% over the European average, even reaching peaks of 80% when compared to the largest European countries," Orsini said.

To solve the issue, he called for a change in the price mechanism for electricity, with a cut in general costs faced by companies, including those for energy.

He also called for fewer hurdles to produce energy from renewable sources and a return to the production of nuclear energy, which was banned in Italy in 1987.