Meloni urges energy firms to ease bills as Italy pushes EU carbon market reforms

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni used her Prague remarks to press energy firms into offering more relief to Italian families and firms, describing the government's actions as a moral suasion appeal rather than regulatory mandates. She noted that Eni’s recent 30 % discount on electricity and gas bills follows similar voluntary cuts by IP and Q8 on fuel, outcomes she attributes to recent government encouragement. In the bilateral meeting with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, the two leaders discussed a coordinated EU initiative to curb the energy crisis, including a price cap for gasoline, reforms to the European Union Emissions Trading System, and greater flexibility in free-allocation quotas for sectors such as steel and cement.

The plan also calls for tighter supervision of the carbon-credit market by the European Commission, ESMA and ACER. Domestically, Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti indicated that Italy will likely draw on the EU’s energy-defence clause to mitigate price spikes, pending parliamentary approval of a budget resolution. Meloni concluded by thanking the companies and foreign partners for their efforts and reaffirmed Italy’s commitment to continued support.