Rome announced that the net value of Italy’s energy imports will approach 100 billion euros this year, eliminating the net trade surplus with the rest of the world that the country has recorded in recent years.
Italian Economy Minister Daniele Franco said Italy consumed 75% of its energy last year through imports.
“We are transferring wealth abroad,” he added at the annual Ambrosity Business Forum in Chernoby, noting that the €100 billion amount “is up to 3 percentage points of GDP that we are transferring to energy-producing countries.”
Franco stated that “the government has spent 33 billion euros since the beginning of the year to offset the impact of high energy prices on the economy, but this strategy is very expensive and cannot continue indefinitely.”
He also said: “It’s important to get the European energy market working … to bring gas and energy prices up to potential levels.”
Source: Al-Sharq newspaper.