Premier Mario Draghi on Tuesday said
Italy was "satisfied" with the results of a two-day EU summit on
Ukraine that included a partial ban on Russian oil imports
excluding pipelines and an EC study on an energy price cap that
Rome fought hard for.
"It was a little long European Council but we can say we are
satisfied with the results," Draghi told a press conference.
Draghi said Italy had been pleased with gettig the victory over
the price cap, saying "the Commission officially received a
mandate to study the feasibility of a price cap".
"The EU's action on energy will be developed on many fronts,"
said Draghi.
"On the working of the energy market and the high prices, were
were given satisfactory responses."
Draghi said Italy had not been penalized by the European Union's
agreement on fresh sanctions on Russia including the temporary
halt to oil imports excluding those coming in on pipelines. a
compromise reached after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban
opposed a total ban.
"The accord on the sanctions has been a complete success," the
Italian prime minister told the pres conference, according to
sources present.
"Imagining it just a few days ago would not have even been
credible.
"Italy does not emerge penalized from the agreement, also for us
the obligation not to import Russian oil will be triggered at
the end of the year, and therefore we will be like all the
others," he said.
Asked about League leader Matteo Salvini's plans to travel to
meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, Draghi replied that the
"government is and remains aligned to the EU and the G7",
stressing that "there can be no shift from these things",
according to those present.
"What I said to (parliamentary secret service oversight body)
COPASIR concerning possible relations by members of forces in
government is that the important thing is that they are
transparent relations," Draghi said when asked about a meeting
between Salvini and the Russian ambassador to Rome a week after
Moscow invaded Ukraine.
European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen told her own press
conference that the agreement over banning Russian seaborne oil
partially and temporarily was a good one, according to sources
present.
"Now we must press ahead with RePowerEu, which is a response to
the reliance of Russian gas," she said, according to sources.
She said EU gas reserves were higher than last year and
sanctions were now biting Moscow hard.
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