Energy prices are high, and Meloni speaks to EU leaders: "Reduce costs and protect industry competitiveness."

(Adnkronos) – Energy prices are in Europe's spotlight. Ahead of the European Council on October 15 and 16, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever hosted a new videoconference meeting of the heads of state and government of the informal group on European competitiveness.

"The European Commission, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Hungary also participated in the videoconference along with Italy, Germany, and Belgium," the Prime Minister's office said in a statement. The discussion, the government emphasized, "focused on three topics: energy costs, simplification of European rules, and international trade relations." 

President Meloni "stressed the need for the next European Council to provide clear and concrete political guidance, particularly to reduce energy costs and protect the competitiveness of European industry. In this context, she recalled the joint contribution developed with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, with proposals to reduce the costs associated with the ETS system, support the most exposed industrial sectors, limit the impact of the cost of CO2 on electricity prices, and further postpone the entry into force of ETS2.

The importance of European refining capacity for energy security was also highlighted. "On the simplification front, the need to eliminate or revise unnecessary, disproportionate, or counterproductive European obligations was highlighted, starting with the upcoming entry into force of the European Regulation on methane, which could make it more difficult and costly to resort to alternative energy suppliers," it is further specified. 

"Regarding international trade relations, the discussions focused on the need to strengthen Europe's ability to compete on global markets, ensuring fairer conditions of competition and better access to foreign markets for European companies." 

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