Europeans are blaming US for high gas prices - Ex-Italian official
The former under-secretary of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development Michele Graci tells Al Mayadeen that the US through the EU under the bus in the war in Ukraine and that Europe is to blame for rising gas prices due to sanctions on Moscow.
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Former under-secretary of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development Michele Graci
The former under-secretary of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, Michele Graci, said on Friday that European countries bear the consequences of the sanctions imposed on Russia.
"Europe's attempt to keep Russia out of the energy arena has led to the increase in energy prices and not just the war in Ukraine," Graci explained in an interview with Al Mayadeen, noting that, "the economy is shrinking due to the increase in energy prices which is due to the European Union and its sanctions on Moscow."
Read more: EU storage facilities' gas injections decrease by 30%
ما أسباب الإنكماش في #أوروبا؟
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) November 11, 2022
-وكيل وزارة الخارجية السابق في وزارة التنمية الاقتصادية الايطالية ميشيل غراتشي في #المشهدية- pic.twitter.com/k26VXzExwi
"European People are accustomed to a certain way of life, and it will be difficult for elected governments to find solutions to it," he explained.
"The Europeans blame the United States because they have to pay double the gas prices to get it from the US," Graci told Al Mayadeen, pointing out that, "the Europeans believe that the United States sacrificed them through its war in Ukraine."
على من يُلقي الأوروبيون اللّوم حول موضوع الغاز؟
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) November 11, 2022
-وكيل وزارة الخارجية السابق في وزارة التنمية الاقتصادية الايطالية ميشيل غراتشي في #المشهدية-#أوروبا pic.twitter.com/BXyHKLD447
The former Italian official added that, "the United States should provide gas to Europe at low prices and put an end to the war in Europe," stressing that, "the solution is in the hands of Washington, which must work to put an end to the war through diplomacy."
Infograph: The cost of the energy crisis in Europe
It is noteworthy that on September 30, EU energy ministers reached a political agreement on proposed regulations to address rising energy prices. The regulation provides for joint measures to reduce electricity demand and collect and redistribute surplus energy sector revenues to end customers, according to an EU statement.
Regarding the possibility of Russia completely stopping the supply of gas to Germany, Graci told Al Mayadeen that "if Russia completely stops supplying gas to Germany, Berlin will face a big crisis," explaining that, "Germany's decline means the decline of Europe as a whole."
Reda more: Germany issues nearly €65 bln relief to deal with winter energy crisis
"The BRICS countries will benefit from this crisis because they continue to buy Russian gas," he said, adding that, "these developments will shift the balance of power from Europe to Asia."
"If Italy manages to get an agreement with Algeria before Germany, its economy will survive," Graci told Al Mayadeen.
Read more: Italy lambasts Germany's protective energy plan
Algeria supplies Italy with gas through the "Transmad / Enrico Mattei" pipeline, which connects the island of Sicily through Tunisia with a maximum annual transport capacity of 32 billion cubic meters.
In April, Algeria and Italy signed an agreement to increase gas supplies by up to 9 billion cubic meters over the next two years.
On July 18, after receiving the then-Prime Minister of Italy Mario Draghi, the Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said that his country will sign an important agreement between Occidental, Eni, Total and Sonatrach worth USD 4 billion to supply Italy with large quantities of gas.
