Between requests for greater energy autonomy, support for families and businesses and clashes over extra profits, the high price of energy thus returns to the center of European political debate, while tensions in the Middle East and fears linked to the consequences of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continue to weigh on European energy markets. The European Commission has decided to temporarily loosen state aid rules to support particularly exposed sectors such as agriculture, fishing and transport, in an attempt to stem the effects of high energy prices on businesses and consumers.
But the political debate remains heated – especially in the European Parliament – regarding the issue of the extra profits of large energy companies and the need for a more coordinated European strategy.
For Cecilia Strada, MEP of the Democratic Party, “the repercussions on the price of energy are dramatic and do not depend only on the situation in the region or on the closures of the Strait of Hormuz”. “In Italy, in March, the price of energy was 148 euros per megawatt hour, while in Spain it was 34. So it doesn’t just depend on Hormuz,” he said.
The lesson, he argues, is clear: “If you want peace, invest in renewables. If you want to be autonomous you have to give yourself energy autonomy and we can no longer depend on fossil fuels from countries with tyrant regimes.” For the Dem MEP “extra profits must be taxed extra: no one should gain from the fact that someone else is being oppressed or dying under the bombs”.
Massimiliano Salini of Forza Italia also insists on the need for a European response, deeming the EU’s reaction to the energy crisis “correct”. “It takes into account the need for greater coordination between member countries, so that internal production within the EU is also relaunched and the conditions are created for greater strategic autonomy”, he explains.
However, Salini underlines that, in addition to the Middle Eastern crisis, “there is also that of the blockade of supplies from Russia”. The problem, according to the MEP, is that “today we are unable to coordinate our energy strategy between member countries: each country sets its own price and purchases between countries are complex”. Yes to the taxation of extra profits, therefore, “but the problem cannot be addressed in a populist way, without a systemic intervention that truly brings together the problems of all member countries”.
Pasquale Tridico of the 5 Star Movement claims that the M5S was among the first to propose taxing the extra profits of oil companies. “During these months of war in the Middle East they are speculating, and we see the prices of oil, fuel, gas in our homes and in small and medium-sized businesses increasing,” he said. “We had proposed taxing them to distribute the revenue to families and businesses.”
Tridico speaks of “great disappointment” at the rejection of the amendment on the taxation of extra profits in the Eurochamber, but assures that the 5 Star Movement will continue “to fight for a social Europe, capable of redistributing company profits and bridging regional gaps”.
