Inflation in Europe should decrease in 2023 if the measures taken to limit the prices of Russian oil and natural gas prove to be effective, European Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said, according to Bloomberg.
Present at the Ambrosetti Forum organized in Cernobbio, Italy, Paolo Gentiloni expressed his confidence that the initiatives taken in parallel by the G7 (major industrialized countries) and the European Commission will gradually reduce inflation.
According to the European Commissioner, the explosion in energy prices has caused about 40% of the recent increase in consumer prices in Europe, more than in the case of the US.
“Of course, I’m not saying it will return to the level it was two years ago, but it will reach a maximum point and then start to decline, maybe next year,” said Paolo Gentiloni, in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
Gentiloni’s analysis is similar to a survey of professional forecasters by the European Central Bank, which showed that inflation in the eurozone fell sharply in 2023 and will continue to fall in 2024.
On Friday, finance ministers of the G7 (the world’s major industrialized countries) agreed on a plan aimed at implementing a global price ceiling for petroleum products and crude oil from Russia, which will come into force in December. Separately, the European Union is analyzing additional options for establishing a price limit for energy carriers.
Commissioner Gentiloni, who was Italy’s prime minister from 2016 to 2018, also said Europe could do more to reduce the energy crisis by focusing on joint procurement, a measure he called a “decisive step”. However, Gentiloni admitted that a joint energy procurement strategy “is not an easy thing because oil and gas are not like vaccines. You have long-term contracts that operate in different Member States, it’s about different big companies.”
Starting Friday and ending Sunday, the Ambrosetti Forum, a conference traditionally held at the end of summer, brings together the political, economic and financial elite to discuss global challenges in Cernobbio, in northern Italy. (Source: Agerpres)
Source: Hot News RO
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