Ukraine: EU's most urgent challenge is energy says Draghi

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 18 - The EU's most urgent challenge with the Ukraine war is energy, Premier Mario Draghi said after talks in Rome with the premiers of Spain, Greece and Portugal Friday.
    "We have many common challenges to which we must find common responses together with all the other European Union partners," Draghi said after the in-person meeting at Villa Madama with Spanish Premier Pedro Sanchez and Portuguese Premier Antonio Costa and via videolink with Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
    "The most urgent topic of this meeting is that of energy. The Ukraine invasion has opened a period of strong volatility on the raw materials markets which has been added to the price hikes.
    "We must intervene immediately...we must support household spending power, above all for the most vulnerable, and of our businesses".
    Draghi also said the war had shown that European defence had become an "essential goal, to be pursued in a very rapid time-frame and in full complementarity with NATO.
    "Stronger European defence makes NATO stronger." (ANSA).