Expensive diesel: Eni sets a price ceiling, but tension remains

The tax cut on diesel decided by the government is halved and Eni responds by announcing a cap on the prices of its fuel for 30 days. Government and consumers applaud the decision, but in the meantime Assotir truck drivers are calling for a strike over high diesel prices. Ministers Urso and Pichetto have summoned the oil companies for October 8th to ask them to increase the production of the refineries and bring down prices.

On 16 September, the Council of Ministers had extended the cut in excise duties and VAT on diesel, but had reduced it: from 17 cents per litre, it had dropped to 12.2 cents from 18 to 25 September, and to 6.1 cents from 26 September to 5 October. The National Consumers Union calculates that "diesel oil will rise tomorrow from 2.421 euros per liter to 2.482 on the motorway, while on the road network it will go from 2.338 to 2.399 euros per liter, with a daily increase of 2.6%". "For motorists this is a net increase from 3 euros to full," writes Codacons.

But in the afternoon, Eni's surprise announcement arrived. The Italian energy giant, whose control is public, has set a maximum limit (price cap) on the price of fuels marketed by Enilive, equal to 2.19 euros per liter for diesel and 1.99 euros per liter for petrol. The price cap "will be applied starting from September 28, for an initial duration of 30 days, with the possibility of extension until the end of the year".

Palazzo Chigi immediately thanked the group: "A commendable act of attention to Italy, which goes in the desired direction of controlling expensive fuel". "This is the path we prefer - commented Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani -: responsibility, collaboration and market, not dirigiste interventions or new taxation built around the concept of extra profits". However, the high cost of fuel remains, and the climate remains tense. The general secretary of Assotir, Claudio Donati, declared that, if the government does not convene the road transport associations to address the high price of diesel, a strike "we cannot rule it out".

In the afternoon, north of Rome, farmers took to the Via Aurelia with tractors to protest against fuel prices. And the pressure on the government is felt, so much so that the ministers of Business, Adolfo Urso, and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, have decided to convene the companies that manage the 10 Italian refineries and the 3 biorefineries for Thursday 8 October. In addition to Unem (Energy Union for Mobility), representatives of Sonatrach, Socar-IP, Iplom, KPI, Alma Petroli, Ludoil/Isab, Eni itself, Saras and Innovhub will sit around the table.

The objective, they explain, is "to evaluate how national refineries can increase the production of the main products". However, the opposition is unleashed, despite Eni's move, judged to be late. For Democratic Party senator Francesco Boccia, "if Eni could intervene, why didn't it do so before, and why didn't the government ask it? Eni is not a benefactor to whom Palazzo Chigi must thank: it is a large Italian company over which the State exercises control". "Eni's decision to set a ceiling on the price of petrol and diesel shows that the controlled price was possible, as we had always asked for", declared Avs MP Angelo Bonelli.

"Why doesn't the government intervene on the extra profits of companies, and why doesn't it reduce excise duties, not for a month, but permanently? Without making a commercial", commented the secretary of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini. For Codacons, Eni's price cap "will result in savings of 10.4 euros on a full tank of diesel" and "11.2 euros for a full tank of petrol". "We can only be happy that companies listed on the stock exchange do more than politics does," commented UNC. And Assoutenti added: "The government should intervene by setting a temporary price cap by law."