Italian business lobby in negotiations on potential gas distribution

Drivers line up outside a petrol station to refuel their cars as petrol prices continue to rise in Catania, Italy, March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s main business lobby group Confindustria is in talks with the government about possible gas distribution, its head said on Monday.

Confindustria’s Carlo Bonomi said at a press conference in Rome that the measure would be necessary to mitigate the risks associated with a complete stoppage of Russian gas flows in the upcoming winter season. .

“We are trying to analyze how best to intervene in case of distribution. We are working to ensure that nothing surprises us,” he added.

Italy, which has become less reliant on gas imports from Russia and has increased storage, last week planned to cut consumption during the winter months by reducing heating in public and private residential buildings.read more

Mr Bonomi also said there is room to amend Italy’s EU-funded National Recovery and Recovery Plan (PNRR).

Explaining the need for revisions, Bonomi said the plan was drafted before the Ukraine war exacerbated the energy crisis, turning it into an “economic earthquake.”

Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s frontrunner to become prime minister after the September 25 general elections, said Italy could revise its PNRR to ease pressures related to high energy prices.read more

Critics fear that radical changes could jeopardize up to €200 billion ($202.8 billion) of EU funding for post-pandemic recovery.

Confindustria President Bonomi also said the European Central Bank’s interest rate hike could exacerbate Italy’s public debt.

($1 = 0.9863 Euro)

Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte Writing by Alvise Armellini and Keith Weir Editing by Federico Maccioni and David Goodman

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