An Italian minister describes the price of gasoline and fuel as a "colossal scam without justification"
Angel Gomez FuentesFOLLOW, CONTINUE
Updated: 03/13/2022 15:27h
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“We are witnessing a
unjustified fuel price increase, there is no technical reason for these increases. The increase has no correlation with the reality of the facts, it is a speculative spiral, in which few win»; It is "a colossal scam at the expense of companies and citizens." This statement by the Minister of Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani, has had great national repercussion. The statements to Sky Tg24 by Cingolani, a technical minister of great weight in the government of Mario Draghi, take place on the eve of the national strike that truck drivers begin this Monday, in order to show "the situation of extreme need in the sector".
To deactivate the "colossal scam", the minister considers that a European front must be established to specify the
gas prices and set a maximum price
, thus limiting the damage to companies and citizens, who see the unstoppable price of fuel. At the moment, a liter of gasoline today costs 2,268 euros in Italy, practically the same as diesel: 2,262 euros/litre.
«It is necessary -explains Minister Cingolani- to set a maximum price beyond which European operators cannot go, it is essential. Anyone who exports gas cannot do their accounts without Europe: we need a ceiling for the price of gas, an attractive cost so as not to sink the market; we can discuss around a figure of 80 euros megawatt/hour, which is already double what we paid a year ago».
“Europale has given Russia almost a billion euros a day for the purchase of gas. It is perhaps more than the cost of the war that Putin is waging."
For the Minister of Ecological Transition, fuels cost more because there is nervousness in the market, but there is no reason to justify the current prices: «There is no reason for the price of gas to rise. On the contrary. These days, it abundantly flows from all gas pipelines, including Russian ones, to an even greater extent than it did years ago. Compared to a while ago, it costs more because there is nervousness in the market." “The cost of extracting the gas is always the same -adds the minister- and there is no reason to sell it 10 times more expensive. So if we put a cap on it and intervene urgently, we stop this speculative spiral."
The Italian minister also specified what Europe is paying for Russian gas: “In recent days, all of Europe has given Russia almost 1,000 million euros a day on average for the purchase. It is perhaps more than the cost of the war that Putin wages."
Earthquake due to the minister's complaint
Minister Cingolani's statements on fuel prices have caused something of an earthquake, because his attack is directed directly, without mentioning them, at the oil companies, including some in which the State is a shareholder, such as Eni or Enel. His complaint is serious because using the term "fraud" is illegal, that is, there would be a crime that consists of causing property damage to citizens and companies through deception for profit. Hence, the leader of Green Europe, Angelo Bonelli, has asked the minister to file a complaint: «Cingolani is a minister and since fraud is a crime, he has the duty to report to the judicial authorities any violations of the criminal code of which he has knowledge".
Hours later, the Minister for Ecological Transition, without denying the underlying issue, that is, the madness of the price increase, speaks of speculation, instead of fraud, and explains: "Speaking of speculation in the market, the minister was referring to the price of crude oil and gas, which is
increasing exponentially despite the fact that there are no supply problems». In short, the minister replaces the word "fraud" and uses the term speculation taking into account supply and demand, the classic law of the market.
cap on gas prices
In the same line as Minister Cingolani, on the need to impose a maximum price on gas, the Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, had expressed himself hours before, who in Versailles said verbatim: «A cap must be introduced on gas prices. This is a very complex issue, I think it can have some important effect. So much so that since we started talking about it, perhaps it's a coincidence, the price of gas has dropped a lot: from more than 200 euros to about 116 euros today. The Commission, I believe that in the next European Council, will present a more general report on how to reduce the contagion of the (price) gas to the rest of the electricity».
The Italian Prime Minister also explained why
the electricity bill is through the roof: “We must separate the market for electricity produced from renewable sources from the gas market. Today there is only one price, so even electricity produced at very low cost - such as that produced by energy from many renewable sources - reaches the consumer at a price equal to that produced with gas. This is the main cause of the increase in bills,” explained Draghi.
Tax burden on electricity companies
The former president of the ECB also referred to the tax burden on the profits of electricity companies: «On the taxation of extraordinary profits of electricity companies, it is very important that the European Commission recognized it in its communication a few days ago. The Commission considers that through the
taxation of profits obtained by electricity companiesThus, revenues of around 200,000 million euros can be achieved. So it is certainly a source to look at very carefully. I have been saying this for a long time, but now the positive opinion is coming from the European Commission and from what I have heard, many member countries are thinking of going down this path.”
aids
To deal with the rise in prices, Mario Draghi has promised a series of measures, including aid of 16,000 million euros for families and companies; In addition, "we have planned the elimination (on the bill) of system charges for domestic electricity users and for companies, and the reduction of VAT to 5 percent for gas users."
