Mobile excise duties remain the first option under consideration by the government. This was reiterated by Giorgia Meloni who on 7 October from Split, at the end of the Med9 summit, responded to a question on the high cost of fuel. "We - said the Prime Minister - are always ready to intervene again, particularly with the mobile excise duty mechanism. As of September we have around 170 million that can be spent for this objective". Meloni, however, underlined that the government is still evaluating the issue: "We are asking ourselves whether it is more effective to spend it at this time, when there are containment measures in any case, or to keep it as a provision when those measures end. It also depends on the stability of the cap. Let's see what happens in the next few hours. I hope - the Prime Minister finally hoped - that in the next few hours the price cap can be fully restored, then the assessment will be made downstream".
Yesterday's data indicates that the price of petrol has decreased while that of diesel has increased. The Ministry of Business and Made in Italy has announced that, based on the latest data collected by the Mimit Observatory on fuel prices, on the morning of Wednesday 7 October the average price of fuel in 'self service' mode along the national road network was equal to 2,040 euros per liter for petrol (2,243 the day before) and 2,261 euros per liter for diesel (2,244 euros the price of the day before). On the motorway network, however, the average self-service price was 2.051 euros per liter for petrol (2.054 the price on Tuesday) and 2.287 euros per liter for diesel (2.267 the price of the previous day).
Attacks on the government came from the opposition. But consumer associations also criticize the failure to renew the tax discount on diesel through mobile excise duties. On fuel "the government betrays its promise, reversing a virtuous decline in fuel prices that had lasted since 27 September", comments the National Consumers Union. "Italians no longer enjoy any discount on fuel taxation, and can only rely on the autonomous initiatives of oil companies" observes Codacons. Adusbef calculates that with the stop to the discount, the full tank of diesel "will increase by 3.05 euros on a 50 liter tank, to the full benefit of state coffers".
In just two days and despite discounts and price caps launched by oil brands, the price of a full tank of diesel increases by an average of 1 euro on Italian roads and motorways, reiterates Codacons, an association that monitors price list trends every day, calculating the effects on Italians' pockets. Compared to October 5, the last day of application of the excise duty discount, the average price of a liter of diesel today rises by 1.9 cents on the roads, +2.1 cents on the motorway, causing a full tank to cost motorists around 1 euro more in just two days. Completely opposite trend for petrol, whose average price in the same period drops by 0.8 cents on the ordinary network, 1.1 cents on the motorway.
For the government, as also reiterated by Prime Minister Meloni from Split, the choice may not be definitive. "We are thinking about it, there is no decision, let's see, we are working on it", says the Deputy Minister of Economy, Maurizio Leo. At Palazzo Chigi the dossier is being carefully followed with the aim of finding the necessary coverage to allow a renewal of the tax discount. Not a simple operation, it is noted while awaiting responses from the EU on the questions posed by Rome on the topic of inflation. One of the ways to quickly find the necessary coverage, among the various hypotheses that are being evaluated, would also be to intervene on indirect taxation which concerns other products, according to the majority's opinion. As Il Sole 24 Ore explains, an inter-ministerial decree is already ready to reactivate the mobile excise duties. But we also need a political agreement between the various souls of the majority.
Attention shifts to today and tomorrow, with the Eurogroup and Ecofin meetings. Officially, as underlined by diplomatic sources in Brussels, the inflation dossier raised by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the letter sent last week to Ursula von der Leyen is not on the agenda. The EU Council will take "due consideration" of the Italian requests, but not immediately, they implied, underlining that there will instead be a discussion on extra energy profits. The Ministry of Economy, however, clarified that Giancarlo Giorgetti "will bring the issue of the serious economic consequences on public accounts caused by the surge in inflation" to the attention of his European colleagues and that the issue will find the necessary space in other points during the scheduled meetings.
The Stability Pact already provides for the impact of higher-than-expected inflation to be taken into account when examining compliance with the spending paths of the member states, sources in Brussels told Ansa after the request for flexibility on spending made by Meloni. "An evaluation is more complicated than the use of the extra VAT revenue linked to inflation - the sources add - Then evidently evaluations will be made, but originally the revised rules of the Pact were designed to prevent the use of a possible 'treasure' that could be created in cases like this".
The decision on fuels, as well as on many measures of the next budget, therefore remains on standby.
