Draghi says goodbye to everyone and leaves Brussels as a winner. The agreement approved in the night by the EU Council was born from the Italian proposal carried out for months with rigor and constancy, tackling and dismantling the reluctance of many countries, Germany in primis. The measures will have to be finalized in the next few weeks and it will be up to the new Government to carry on the work of the one who will become the former Premier in a few hours, but the road has now been traced and the first effects are already beginning to be seen with the price of gas which on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange drops by 10% compared to yesterday's session. “And soon the bills will also drop”, promises Draghi.
Draghi: "The approved measures are initiatives of the Italian government"
Speaking from Brussels before returning to Italy to pass the baton to the new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Draghi does not hide his enthusiasm: “There is one aspect that makes me particularly proud. All these measures are initiatives of the Italian government, I want to thank Minister Cingolani and Undersecretary Amendola and all the diplomats who worked on the dossier".
The energy agreement approved during the summit that has just ended, continued the outgoing Premier: "It is proof that Italy can trace a path" in Europe. Responding to questions from journalists who asked him about any reactions from the markets, Draghi stressed: “Italy is a very strong state and has shown enormous power and credibility. And the Italian economic performances are going very well”.
Draghi: "The EU is fundamental, we must preserve the single market"
"The EU is fundamental, Italy must be at the center of the European project with the credibility, authority and determination that befits a large country like ours”, he added.
“We have always said that the response to the crisis must be European, we must preserve the unity of our countries, essential to impose maximum pressure on Russia,” Draghi explained. “We must preserve the single market, prevent the risk of financial instability. A strong European response is essential for Italy and also for Europe ”, she added, recalling how the Council conclusions“ show that the EU is united ”.
The effects of the EU agreement on gas and bills
“It went well”, commented Draghi as he left the Europa Building. The agreement, in fact, puts on paper "the urgency of concrete decisions" to be taken on gas with a series of measures that include the joint procurement platform and a new benchmark complementary to the TTF. The track to follow remains the one proposed by the Commission on 18 October last.
“Tonight's decision led to a drop in the price of gas, after the agreement the quotations have lost 10% demonstrating that the speculative component is significant. This is the world in which the crisis was to be faced from the beginning and it will result soon into lower bills“, said the Premier, “We expect that” in the coming weeks “the energy ministers and also the Ecofin will arrive at an operational decision” on energy and “common fund financing. This is the wish expressed by the entire European Council”.
"I thank Minister Roberto Cingolani, Undersecretary Vincenzo Amendola and all the diplomats" for "having carried forward the measures proposed by the Italian government with strength and great mediation skills" in Europe.
“Dragons “No advice to the new government”
Mario Draghi has no intention of giving any advice to the government that is about to be born. No need. “The best thing a government can do is bear witness to what it has done,” Draghi said in Brussels. “I offer the new government the testimony of the facts, do not advise”.
The European Union salutes Draghi
At the beginning of the meeting of the second day of the European Council, President Charles Michel addressed Mario Draghi a special greeting, given that what has just closed was the last European summit in which the Italian premier participates. Among other things, Michel noted how Draghi has “contributed to the wealth of discussions in a brilliant way, with concise, short and incisive style”. The European Council has given Draghi an abstract reproduction - by the French-Dutch designer Maxim Duterre - in glass and steel of the Palazzo Europa, the new building that flanks the old EU headquarters in the heart of the 'European' district of Brussels.
On Twitter then, Michel published a celebratory video, accompanied by a few words: “Thanks Mario, we wish you the best in your future. Whatever it takes”. The last sentence is a quote from the famous words spoken by Draghi 10 years ago now, when he promised as president of the ECB to defend the euro at any cost.
