Today, the National Assembly of Consumer Associations was attended by over 4000 activists to urge the Government to take adequate measures to cope with price increases in energy and consumer goods.
It was an unprecedented meeting, which saw, alongside consumers, the participation of the main social forces of Italy: the most important trade union CGIL, CISL and UIL, but also relevant unions of the productive sector, CNA, Confcommercio, Confesercenti, Confcooperative, Panificatori artigiani, and then the unions of the tenants SUNIA and SICET, the voluntary organizations Auser and Anteas, Federcasalinghe, USB, environmental and pro-renewable associations as WWF Legambiente, Coordinamento Free and representatives of photovoltaic manufacturers and energy retailers such as Italia Solare and Arte.
The broad participation has pushed the sponsoring associations to prepare a shared platform starting from five main demands on energy:
- the suspension of secondments due to arrears, now primarily linked to situations of deep hardship and poverty, with the lengthening of bills' instalment guaranteed by the State together with a more stringent ban on contractual changes unilaterally decided by energy supplying companies;
- the increase in bonuses for energy, gas, and water and the enlargement of the audience's beneficiaries through the raising of the ISEE thresholds, also differentiated by aid intensity, together with the establishment of a Fund to combat rampant energy poverty;
- the reforming of the bill, reducing its tax and parafiscal charges, and the system of formation of energy prices, considering the weighted average of the costs of the different sources and decoupling electricity and gas, to more effectively combat speculation;
- an industrial and energy policy to boost investment in renewable sources and storage technologies, adopting measures to support the development of energy communities;
- an extraordinary national support plan for families and businesses, together with the clarification and strengthening of the instruments of super taxation on extra profits above a certain threshold achieved by large energy companies and other companies in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, finance, credit and e-commerce.
"We now expect the Government to be ready to listen to the proposals and demands of consumer associations, which call for a stable dialogue table involving them, together with those of the other social and economic partners. The consumers, represented by the main recognized associations, remain ready to mobilize, in all possible forms and modalities, until effective measures are taken to cope with the social emergency and a structural reform process is launched in the energy policies and sustainability field of the consumption market".
Translated by Ginevra Varallo ACN Staff
