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."
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
