Dragons to the OECD: 'Unlock ports, avoid food catastrophe'

The Prime Minister,

I, arrived this morning at the Chateau de la Muette, at the

, for the Ministerial Council chaired this year by Italy.

The Secretary General Mathias Cormann, at the beginning, thanked the Prime Minister.

The

at the G20 in Rome is "historic", said Draghi opening the ministerial meeting of the OECD. 

"The effort to avoid the food crisis must begin with the release of the ports and the thousands of cereals that are there. The United Nations mediation effort is a significant step forward, unfortunately it is the only one", said the premier. about the war in

, stressing that the grain freeze is causing "prices to rise causing a worldwide catastrophe".

"The G7 and the EU have shown remarkable unity and solidarity in supporting Ukraine and putting pressure on Russia to resume negotiations - he added -. The EU alone has approved 6 sanctions packages that have dealt a severe blow to the oligarchs close to the Kremlin and to key sectors of the Russian economy ".

"For our efforts to be effective they must be sustainable over time and involve emerging and developing economies - explained the premier -. We must combine the resolve shown in Ukraine with the same determination to help the citizens themselves and those who they are found in the poorest countries in the world, especially in Africa ". 

"The EU council has approved to consider imposing a price ceiling for Russian gas imports: this could limit the increase in inflation and reduce financial flows to Moscow".

However, Draghi underlined that "discussions are still ongoing and there could be a long way to go".

Against expensive energy, the EU must consider "replicating" tools such as Sure "which helped us to recover quickly from the pandemic", explained Draghi opening the OECD ministerial meeting in Paris.

"A similar instrument, this time aimed at energy" added Draghi, "could give vulnerable countries more space to help their citizens in a time of crisis, would strengthen popular support for our joint sanctioning effort and help preserve stability. across the euro area ".

"This emergency situation must not be an excuse to betray our climate goals but the reason to double them."

"Accelerating the energy transition is critical to moving towards a sustainable model and reducing our dependence on Russia. We need to facilitate the expansion of renewables and promote research and development into new green and clean energy solutions. This means strengthening our architecture of ' hydrogen and develop smart and resilient grids ".

At the center of the day was the theme of the conflict in Ukraine, which Cormann defined as "unjustifiable", slowing growth and rising inflation.

THE OPENING SPEECH

ZELENSKY TO THE OECD

"The primary interest of the world is to help protect Ukraine": said the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking at the ministerial meeting of the OECD.

"The aggression of Russia must end as soon as possible", continued Zelensky, calling for "painful long-term sanctions".

"The world must stop the aggression of Russia which is a threat to the whole world".

Zelensky's speech was greeted by applause from the delegations present.

For his part, the OECD general secretary, Mathias Cormann, greeted Zelensky's "strength and courage" and accepted the invitation of the Ukrainian president to meet him in the OECD office in Kiev.

Shortly after midnight, the "working dinner" at the Elysée between the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, ended.

During the Elysée dinner, the two leaders took stock of the next G7 and NATO summits, scheduled for later this month, and the European Council on 23 and 24 June in Brussels.

At the center of the issues addressed, the developments of the war in Ukraine and support for Kiev, food security, the strengthening of European autonomy in defense and energy matters, with a view to a diversified energy strategy and less energy dependence. from Russia.