More than 20 categories make up the definitive list of measures eligible for the budget flexibility granted by the EU for energy security, an option worth about 14.4 billion euros for Italy over three years.
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The document prepared by the Commission also includes investments for nuclear power plants and, for both businesses and households, possible grants or subsidized loans for building renovations and for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Households could also access grants for photovoltaic panels and to replace gas boilers with heat pumps.
However, the refusal to use the clause for reducing excise duties or other taxes on fossil fuels or for income-based support or other subsidies to mitigate energy prices is confirmed. No direct aid against high fuel prices or to cut bills, therefore. The focus seems rather to be on energy efficiency and, regarding the business sector, also by virtue of the reference to the annex of the Net Zero Industry Act, the final investment scheme for decarbonization is broad. Brussels, moreover, invites consideration of the grid of measures (see the table on the page) as illustrative and not exhaustive.
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The Italian government has been working for several weeks on an intervention plan, exploiting the extension to energy security and transition of the safeguard clause for defense. “Some potential measures that meet the requirements have already been identified and the necessary technical and eligibility assessments are underway,” says the Minister of Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto, emphasizing in particular the importance of Brussels’ choice to also include nuclear power. Interventions for energy efficiency (incentives for heat pumps and a possible new Thermal Account) and for storage (both battery and pumped storage) could be at the forefront. Supports for the installation of photovoltaic panels for public buildings and, in general, a further push for renewable energy plants are also being studied. The situation is different for nuclear power: Italy is too far behind to incentivize the construction of plants, but margins could open on the research front.
The measures presented will be evaluated by the Commission, which will decide in September whether to recommend them to the Council for approval. Adoption by the Council could then take place at the October Ecofin session. The Meloni government appears determined to exploit the entire flexibility allowed during the period, i.e., 0.6% of GDP, spreading it over 2027 and 2028 with the possibility, however, in case of closure of the EU excessive deficit procedure, to anticipate a small share of interventions already this year. The Ministries of Enterprises and Made in Italy and of Environment and Energy Security have already drafted initial measures to be reviewed by the Economy Ministry. One of the hypotheses being considered is to introduce, at least for some of the incentives under examination, a made in Europe clause to favor products made in European Union plants. A delicate choice, however, considering the very troubled precedent of the Transition 5.0 plan for which such a clause, initially planned, was then removed due to application problems and the strong limitation of products that would have conditioned purchases.
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