Even the eleventh day has passed war and after more than 1.300 deaths in IranThe Pentagon announces the "most intense" series of attacks on the country of the ayatollahs. Even the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to contradict the announcement of the imminent end of hostilities made on Monday by Donald Trump: “We are breaking Iran's bones, but we are not finished yet”. So much so that the Tehran regime warns the American president: “Be careful not to be eliminated yourself”. Meanwhile, the raid in the Gulf and Israel in Lebanon, Ankara deploys the Patriots.
Iran, Meloni-Merz axis on energy
With the outbreak of war in Iran and the Middle East, the scenario has radically changed. From here, the videocall promoted on Tuesday afternoon by Giorgia Meloni, Friedrich Merz e Bart DeWever - so Italy, Germany e Belgium – convened in the wake of an emergency, the energy emergency. And a shared need: to lower oil and gas prices. The leaders who took part in the video call were: ventunoAfter the meeting concluded, Palazzo Chigi announced that the participants included Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden, and Slovakia, in addition to the three sponsoring countries and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
There are two important new additions to the list. The first is the presence of the Spanish Prime Minister. Pedro Sanchez, who last month had done nothing to hide his dissent at the lack of invitation. The second is the absence of Emmanuel MacronFrench diplomatic sources, when asked about the matter, simply explained that the head of the Elysée had already been the protagonist of an initiative on energy in the morning by chairing the second international summit on civil nuclear power. The summit was attended by Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin and during which von der Leyen underlined how it had been “It is a strategic mistake for the EU to turn its back on nuclear power.”Yet, at a time when relations between Meloni and Macron are running on the edge of tension like never before, the French president's absence does not go unnoticed.
Iran and the oil rally: EU divided over ETS suspension
Meloni underlined to her counterparts what she has been saying for days and will say at the European Council in March: "a temporary suspension of the ETS system on energy production, pending a rapid and broader review of the mechanism". The taxation system of the carbon, and its volatility – this is the government's argument – are crippling the potential revival of European industry. Not everyone sees it this way. Madrid certainly doesn't think this way.. And also among the Nordics more than one doubt is creeping in.
War in Iran, Meloni in Parliament
And so, to implement measures to combat the surge in fuel prices, the government will wait to see how the conflict in Iran unfolds in the coming days. One of the main sources of concern is precisely the Strait of Hormuz, because in addition to the safety of navigation, there is also the issue of stability of energy marketsThese are themes that are destined to be crucial in the communication that Meloni will keep before Parliament on Wednesday, first in the Senate and then in the Chamber, on the crisis in the Middle East but also on the next EU Council (19-20 March), where, in fact, he has already made it clear that he will insist on the temporary suspension of the ETS.
Precisely on the energy front, the executive will evaluate in the next few days the horizon of the surge, and will decide whether and what measures to take (among the hypotheses, the movable excise duties and the strengthening of Mr. Prices) also based on the orientations that emerge at EU level. The center-right resolution—which will allow the government to make future decisions regarding the war in Iran—commits "to adopt measures aimed at mitigating the economic impact of the crisis, with particular attention to energy prices and support for exporting companies."
Iran, Starmer-Meloni-Merz triangulation
The Strait of Hormuz which divides the Arabian Peninsula from Iran – through which only a few ships pass each day – was at the centre of a discussion that the Prime Minister also had with Keir StarmerThe British Prime Minister also spoke to the German, Downing Street reports. Friedrich Merz. And in this triangulation, the leaders agreed to "work together on a series of options to protect commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, in response to growing threats from Iran." "We want to defend the freedom of transit in Hormuz," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also stressed with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. These are scenarios that will also be discussed on Friday at the Quirinal, in the meeting of the Supreme Defense Council.
Iran, Mattarella's warning
From the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, meanwhile the warning: “Do not allow a authoritarian regressionBeware of fraudulently representative forms. No to the claims of those who want to operate outside of supranational bodies."
