New rules to lower skyrocketing petrol prices, targeting price speculation in particular, were introduced by the government on Wednesday, although government partner Forza Italia disagrees on the issue.
The price of petrol has risen to over €2 per litre since the start of January. This is partly due to there being no discount on the excise duties introduced by the previous government of then Prime Minister Mario Draghi and not renewed that of Meloni.
The rise can also be explained by petrol dealer speculation, according to the governing rightist Brothers of Italy and Lega parties. However, centre-right Forza Italia, a junior coalition partner, disagrees.
To counter this phenomenon, the Council of Ministers on Wednesday introduced the obligation for distributors to display the average pump price of fuel alongside the price they charge. The national average price will be set by the Ministry of Enterprise and published daily.
The penalties that may be applied will be those provided for the criminal offences of “fraudulent raising and lowering of prices on the public market or trading exchanges” and “speculative manoeuvres on goods”. Those caught reoffending may even be forced to suspend activities for seven to 90 days.
On this point, the government coalition is split, with Forza Italia not identifying the problem with distributors but rather with the non-renewal of the excise discount.
Meloni, for her part, has made it clear that the problem cannot be solved by renewing the discount and introducing new regulations on the transparency of fuel distributors to block speculation.
The new measures are contained in a decree that provides for the daily, and no longer weekly, monitoring of prices. The decree also allows for another regulation that would set a ceiling on the cost of fuel on motorways to be enacted.
Under the new measures, private employers will be able to hand out petrol vouchers that could go up to a maximum of €200 per worker.
In the afternoon, Meloni posted a video on social media explaining to citizens why her government decided not to renew the excise discount, even though in a video from 2019, which has now gone viral, Meloni argued the exact opposite.
“When I pay €50 for petrol, the bulk of it must end up in my car, not in that of the state,” the prime minister said at the time.
Now, however, Meloni argues that renewing the excise discount would have meant investing funds by taking them away from other more urgent measures.
The government’s new measures have left shopkeepers angry, however.
“Instead of solving the cost problem by cutting the tax component, which is among the highest in Europe, (the government) has launched a measure that risks turning into a bureaucratic nightmare for operators”, said Giuseppe Sperduto, president of the representative association Faib Confesercenti.
(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)
Source: euractiv.com
