According to the media reports on March 9th, Italian Prime Minister Meloni plans to rapidly advance a new decree aimed at addressing the surge in energy prices caused by the Middle Eastern conflict. Meloni is expected to discuss this measure at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. It remains unclear whether the decree will include a windfall tax on energy companies. On Sunday, during an appearance on Rete 4 television, Meloni reiterated, “We are determined to combat speculative behavior.” She had previously stated last Thursday, “If necessary, I am also prepared to intervene by increasing taxes on companies engaged in speculative activities and utilizing these revenues to reduce utility bills.” The Italian newspaper La Stampa noted that the current mechanism in Italy for hedging against rising energy costs involves reallocating fuel taxes when oil prices exceed a certain threshold. While this mechanism can lower consumer prices to some extent, it proves ineffective during sudden price spikes.
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