The illusion of price controls lasted only a breath, swept away by the mind-boggling figures on the supply boards. The Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti and the Minister of the Environment Gilberto Pichetto Fratin have signed the extension of the 17 cents per liter discount on diesel fuel, which expires on 24 August, extending it until 26 August.
To finance the measure, 20.8 million euros deriving from the extra VAT revenue were allocated, through the mobile excise duty mechanism. However, in reality it is a real mockery of consumers: the measure lasts very little and, due to the continuous global increases triggered by geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, prices at the pump have already eaten up the effect of the cut for some time, eliminating any real benefit for citizens.
The record prices that overwhelm the return from holidays
The bill presented to motorists during the summer counter-exodus – which according to the Anas Road Mobility Observatory involves over 24 million vehicles – is very heavy. According to the findings of the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, the average of diesel on the motorway has broken through the threshold of 2.203 euros per litre, while petrol costs around 2.087 euros, without benefiting from any type of discount. The president of the National Consumers Union, Massimiliano Dona, denounced historic record figures, comparable only to the 2022 peaks recorded at the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
The front of the controversy
The executive’s choice raised a wave of protests. The secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, attacked Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, defining the provision as a useless “buffer measure” and calling for a national tax on the extra profits of energy companies, also supported by Giuseppe Conte of the 5 Star Movement and by Angelo Bonelli of the Green and Left Alliance. Consumer reactions were also harsh: Codacons branded the extension as a completely insufficient intervention, while the president of Assoutenti asked for an extended cut until at least 6 September to avoid devastating impacts on family budgets.
The uncertainty after August 26th and the match in Brussels
Moreover, from August 27 the discount will expire, leaving room for a potential increase of almost 30 cents per liter for diesel. With the next Council of Ministers scheduled for September 3, state coffers do not offer immediate financial margins. The only way out remains the proposal signed by Italy together with five other European countries for an EU tax on the extra profits of oil companies, a topic that will be discussed at the Ecofin in September but inevitably held back by the difficult obstacle of unanimity among the member states.
