"We expect Russia to respect the existing" gas supply "contracts, but even if Moscow's use of energy as a weapon" continues, "
the EU is ready to react
.
Thus, on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum, the European Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, according to whom the wall of divisions between the various countries is beginning to show breaches: "
The Commission proposal that Ursula von der Leyen made yesterday a gas price cap may finally have room to move forward
, and that would be a really important turning point. "
Furthermore, according to Gentiloni, it is difficult to make forecasts, and 2023 can be a more difficult year, from the point of view of growth.
"It is equally possible, however, that a decline in inflation will begin in 2023."
Because "
what we have before us is not the inflation of the seventies and eighties
, but is mainly induced by energy prices", underlines Gentiloni.
So "this could lead to inflation which obviously does not return to previous levels as early as next year but falls with respect to the peaks".
As for the Italian choices in the face of the energy emergency, the European Commissioner believes that "
the government's intention not to make further debt seems to me an intention more than justified
".
The line of the European Commission, he explains, "is that the support measures that are absolutely necessary in the face of this energy crisis must be temporary, which is not easy because when you introduce a subsidy, then removing it is not easy".