The Italian Minister for Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani, proposed to his Government and the European Union (EU) to bet on the supply of gas through the Southern Corridor, which reaches Europe from the Caspian Sea, to reduce the strong dependence on Russia, in the face of tensions in Ukraine.
“Given that gas is inevitable as a transition fuel (until a greater development of renewables is achieved), all opportunities for diversification in supplier countries will have to be explored, including the strengthening of the Southern Corridor”, said the minister in a parliamentary appearance.
The Southern Corridor is a natural gas supply route from the Caspian and Middle East regions to Europe.
Cingolani said that Italy must increase its production domestically, as it imports more than 90% of its gas supplies, around half from Russia.
The Italian hydrocarbons company ENI has already notified the Executive of Mario Draghi that it has natural gas reserves ready to increase its production if necessary.
The increase in gas prices and its impact on the energy bills paid by homes and companies also worries the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luigi Di Maio, who recalled that “the current crisis scenario is framed in a context of strong energy dependence“, well “the EU and UK import 40% of their gas from Russia”.
However, he added, while a slowdown in Russian exports to Europe will penalize dependent countries, it will also punish Moscow, which will stop selling this gas to “your best customer”.
The crisis in Ukraine is having an impact on the shares of Italian banks in Milan in recent days, due to their exposure to Russia.
The largest bank in Italy by assets and market capitalization, Intesa Sanpaolo, has in Russia almost 1,000 employees, 28 branches and assets worth about 1,000 million euros, and fell 0.52% on Monday in the Milanese square.
Worst performance was the second entity, UniCredit (-2.13%), which has also operated in the country since 2005 and currently has around 4,000 employees, two million retail customers and a network of 72 branches.
The CEOs of the two finance companies recently rejected an exit from Russia, because their bet is long-term, but geopolitical risks did discourage UniCredit from buying the Russian bank Otkritie this year, CEO Andrea Orcel acknowledged in January. .
Source: Gestion
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