Excise duty cuts and Tir, the government hunting for internal resources

The government continues its work on finding resources to support the new extension of the cutting excise duties on fuel and the tax credit for the haulage sector, again regarding high energy costs. The Mef, it is reported, is moving mainly in search of internal resources, in the next few hours the extent of the funds available could be clearer. Much will also depend on the progress of the ongoing negotiations with the EU, with Italy having asked to extend to energy the possibility of activating the safeguard mechanism envisaged for defense funds.

At the same time, the executive also works on the selection of the profiles of the Consob and Antitrust leaderswhich expired in recent weeks, were at the center of some brief meetings between the majority leaders in the last few days. “The decree on excise duties is ready. On Friday we convened the hauliers’ associations and in line there will be the Council of Ministers. We convened them not to have a chat but to put the first interventions on the ground”, explains the deputy prime minister and transport minister Matteo Salvini.

The decree currently in force on fuel prices expire on Friday 22 May, an afternoon CDM is on the agenda on the same day. In the next few hours, the picture of the resources available for refinancing the measure could become clearer. Since March 18, a cut in excise duties has been in force which is currently worth 20 cents per liter on diesel and 5 cents per liter on petrol. The measure costs around 120 million euros per week. The greatest difficulty in modulating the renewals of the decree, it is reported, remains the uncertainty about the prospects for peace in Iran and consequently in formulating long-term forecasts.

Also on May 22nd, a meeting is scheduled at Palazzo Chigi between government and representatives of the TIR, organized with the aim of averting the road transport strike called from 25 to 29 May. After almost three months of conflict, with consequent price increases, the hauliers are ready to block the goods distribution chain for almost a week.

The match with the EU on energy and defense stays open. The day before yesterday the initial request to the government to review NATO defense spending was created in the Senate a short circuit resolved by the government, next week in the Chamber the majority should have no problem presenting a motion to request a derogation from the stability pact. The position in the coalition is unanimous.

The general discussion on the texts to be presented began on Monday, there are those from the opposition but the centre-right – explains one of the group leaders of the alliance – will present its own. The government will commit itself in the wake of the letter sent by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The dialogue with Brussels continues, as explained by the head of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti.

“I think that the Italian request to derogate from the stability and growth pact will be inevitable, asking us to do for energy what we can already do for defense and weapons”, Salvini continues to argue.

Meanwhile, the government is also trying to tighten up on the issue of nomine nelle Authority. After the step backwards by the undersecretary of the Mef Federico Freni of the League, new hypotheses are being studied for the leadership of Consob. Among the names that are hypothesized are the economists Donato Masciandaro and Marco Fortis but also the current Commissioner Federico Cornelli. For the Antitrust, the strong name would be that of Saverio Valentino, former member of the Agcm.