Today’s meeting served to define a common approach for the European Council next week. “We want to push the European Commission and other member states to take important preventive measures for all countries in an area crucial to our future,” Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said after discussions with his colleagues. “Common storage (for gas, editor’s note) will allow us to protect each other. Joint procurement would make it possible to have a better bargaining power with suppliers”, continued Mario Draghi.
sense of urgency
This sense of urgency in the face of rising fuel or electricity prices, which leads to general inflation, was shared by other leaders. For his part, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stressed, “Only with the European response can we solve a European problem in an urgent and decisive manner,” saying that “we cannot wait for another day” after the European Council. On March 25th. “Everyone is doing their part to combat the effects of this crisis, but it is clear that we can only achieve something and we have to do it urgently, we are in the midst of a crisis,” he insisted.
His Portuguese counterpart, Antonio Costa, pointed out that “energy is a central issue and has a strategic dimension.” Next week, he expects the European Council to adopt “concrete and immediately applicable decisions,” stressing that the main point is “controlling gas prices.”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he was convinced that “no country can face such a crisis alone with full efficiency”.
