Draghi: "Satisfied with EU gas measures, all of Italy's proposals accepted"

Outgoing premier Mario Draghi 

speaks to journalists after the

“This is

in Brussels, and my last as prime minister,” he says in his debut.

“I want to thank all of you journalists, especially you based in Brussels.

Telling what happens here is difficult, it can take long nights but it is essential ". 

Then he enters the heart of the discussion: “The EU is fundamental for the security, stability and prosperity of the member states, of the continent and of the whole world.

with the credibility, authority and determination that befits a great founding country like us ".

"Italy is the EU country that has

, reducing its dependence on Russia by about two thirds", said Draghi.

“We have

to strengthen our energy security.

We have spent € 60 billion to help families and businesses better resist rising prices but we have also kept public finance costs under control ”, added the prime minister.

“The effects” of the government action “above all on the level of equity have been significant” and “we have

on family budgets.

In the case of the poorest families, the impact of inflation has been reduced by 90% ”, added the premier. 

“Last night's decisions

- continued Draghi -.

They arrived after some time, it took some energy, but the approved package accepts all the proposals of Italy: the creation of a

, the question of decoupling the price of gas from the the price of electricity, the need to have common tools to address and mitigate the rise in energy prices and its effect on households and businesses ”. 

“In the coming weeks, the Commission and the European energy ministers will

, in order to be operational as soon as possible - added the outgoing premier -.

After this agreement, the price of gas has already fallen, demonstrating that there was a strong speculative component in the increases recorded so far ”. 

The Commission formally receives a mandate from the European Council

build an aggregate platform to negotiate gas purchases, and will be able to take "concrete decisions" on the price cap at the Ttf in Amsterdam.

“The proposals so far have asked countries with gas availability to share these availabilities.

And it is a dimension of solidarity, there was no element of solidarity on prices.

Our problem is not the availability of gas, we are the ones with the greatest availability in the EU.

and on this front there were no proposals ”, clarified Draghi.

"We have always said that

- added the premier -, we must preserve the unity of our countries, which is essential to impose maximum pressure on Russia".

“We must

, prevent the risk of financial instability.

A strong European response is essential for Italy and also for Europe ”, Draghi then specified, recalling how the Council's conclusions“ show that the EU is united ”.

Today's result shows that

.

None of us before this meeting, especially after the Prague summit, could have imagined that we would arrive at such a unified decision on what is today the most important problem of the EU ”, added the premier. 

Then, to those who asked him if he wanted to give advice to who will take his place, the outgoing Prime Minister replied: "

, what an outgoing government can do is leave testimony of what it has done, this is what an outgoing Prime Minister leaves for those who arrive ”. 

He then added that "we have tried to

" so that the new government "can quickly start its own business".

Finally, Prime Minister Draghi, responding to those who asked him about any reactions from the markets when he leaves Palazzo Chigi, replied: “

and has shown enormous power and credibility.

And the Italian economic performances are going very well ”.