Italy must respond to an “economic earthquake” from rising energy costs, the head of the country’s business lobby said on Thursday, adding that companies could not afford to wait for a new government to get more help.
The head of Confindustria, Carlo Bonomi, called for a cap on the price of natural gas “if not at the European level, then at the national level”, in an interview with Italian radio RTL 102.5.
“What we are facing is an economic earthquake,” Bonomi said, adding that energy costs in Italy are among the highest in Europe.
“We cannot wait two months, the time it is expected to take until we have a new government, putting at risk the Italian industrial system, the income and the jobs of Italian families,” he added.
Italy will hold elections on September 25, with the government led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi still in power and tasked with dealing with pressing current issues.
The Italian government has allocated more than 50 billion euros this year to try to cushion the blow of higher energy costs for businesses and households.
Business lobby Confcommercio warned on Wednesday that around 120,000 Italian service sector companies could go out of business in the next ten months due to rising energy costs, with 370,000 job losses.
Source: Capital
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