Italy criticises EU for slow action amid rising fuel prices

Moscow – Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini criticised the European Union on Tuesday for being slow to act amid rising fuel prices and for not providing enough support to truck drivers. Salvini warned of the risk of a serious crisis in the country.

Speaking to RTL 102.5 radio, Salvini said transport operators in Italy urgently needed help as further increases in fuel prices could lead to a halt in goods distribution.

‘We must be able to help them, because stopping trucks for a week would mean empty shops and Italy would be in chaos,’ he said.

‘The most absurd thing is that they say, Yes, the situation is serious, but because it has not yet become a disaster, let us wait before intervening,’ he added.

Salvini likened the approach taken by officials in Brussels, the de facto capital of the European Union, to that of a doctor who refuses to save a gravely ill patient until the patient is at death’s door.

The statements come amid growing discontent among Italian truck drivers over rising fuel prices and logistics costs.

On Monday (18 May), ANSA News Agency reported that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had sent a letter to the head of the European Commission requesting budgetary relief in response to the energy crisis.