Fuel: Council of Ministers meeting tomorrow to extend the excise duty discount. The Government to the EU: European action is needed on windfall profits

The government is looking into the issue of high fuel prices ahead of the expiry of the excise duty discount, which remains in force until tomorrow, 26 August. According to various sources, a video conference was held this morning with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, attended by, amongst others, Deputy Prime Ministers Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini, and the leader of Noi Moderati, Maurizio Lupi.

According to sources at Palazzo Chigi, a new Cabinet meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, at which the measures already in force are expected to be extended for a few days, so as to allow the Government to work on a more targeted response. The measure due to expire tomorrow, therefore, will not be the final one, but will serve to allow the necessary time to finalise the new measure. The aim, these same sources explain, is to draw up a measure that focuses more closely on the income groups most in need of state support, thereby making the intervention more effective and selective.

“For now, we will extend the diesel discount, and then we are looking at the longer term.” So said League leader Matteo Salvini when asked during a press briefing at the Rimini Meeting about the Council of Ministers meeting convened for tomorrow. When asked how long the excise duty discount would be extended for, he replied, “For a few days, until September, I imagine. Then I’d like to do something more permanent, something more substantial, and so we need money.”

On the issue of the levy on windfall profits in the energy sector, “a coordinated approach at European level is the only means of ensuring fairness and competitive neutrality: by ensuring that all oil and energy companies operating within the EU single market contribute equally, we avoid creating commercial discrimination and safeguard the competitiveness of the national industrial system”. This is emphasised by sources at Palazzo Chigi, who explain that Italia continues to pursue its initiative on this issue with determination, “promoting discussion of it at European level”.

Yesterday, a spokesperson for the European Commission stated that “the taxation of windfall profits falls within the remit of the Member States, which may act in accordance with national legislation”. Explaining that “Italia continues to pursue its initiative on the issue of a levy on windfall profits in the energy sector with determination, promoting discussion of the matter at European level”, sources at Palazzo Chigi consider it “essential, however, to clarify a misunderstanding regarding the procedure: the European Commission has not been ‘consulted’ for an opinion or binding authorisation on this specific point, nor is this a case of censure or rejection of Italy’s positions”. “Unlike the letter that Italia sent to Commissioner Hoekstra on 3 April, together with four other Member States (including Germany) – the same sources clarify – the letter sent by Italia (together with five other EU countries) on 22 August is a document addressed to the Irish rotating presidency within the framework of the Ecofin process. It is therefore a political initiative designed to open up direct discussion and debate amongst the finance ministers of the Member States. The Commission is thus not the recipient of a formal request for assessment, but the discussion relates to the supranational political dialogue amongst Member States”. “It is, moreover, indisputable that each State retains the right to adopt national measures. However, action confined solely to the borders of a single country risks creating clear market asymmetries,” sources at Palazzo Chigi added. “If the measure were applied exclusively at national level, it would end up penalising the state-owned energy operator (and national energy companies operating primarily on the domestic market), placing them at a disadvantage compared with international competitors operating in neighbouring Member States, where no such levies exist”. “‘A coordinated approach at European level,’ they conclude, ‘is the only means of ensuring fairness and competitive neutrality: by requiring all oil and energy companies operating within the EU single market to contribute equally, we avoid creating commercial discrimination and safeguard the competitiveness of the national industrial system.’