“I would like the tariff shield to be extended”declared Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, this Tuesday on franceinfo, concerning the rise in gas prices which is likely to increase further with the war in Ukraine. “I believe that our responsibility is to protect individuals, households, it is the absolute priority”he added, referring to the extension “until the end of the year” 2022 of this blocking of tariffs put in place in October 2021 for individuals and whose end was initially scheduled for June 2022.
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Bruno Le Maire also plans to set up a tariff shield “for certain companies” currently excluded from the scheme, “those that consume a lot of gas and are exposed to international competition”. “We will look with the most fragile companies if action is necessary and we will do it at European level”he said, adding that it will be at “heart of the discussions” he will have on Wednesday with the European partners. Other companies “will have an increase in gas prices”recognized the Minister of the Economy, considering that it is not possible to “protect all companies against this increase”. But, according to him, the French have “fully aware that freedom has a price, that the defense of freedom in Ukraine has a price”.
Bruno Le Maire, however, called “to keep the measure” of these price increases to avoid “to play Vladimir Putin’s game”. “First of all, inflation does not date from the Ukrainian crisis, it comes from the strength of the economic recovery and the increase in energy prices.he recalled. Then, France, which is 20% dependent on Russian gas, has seen an increase of around 10% since the start of the crisis in Ukraine. So we are not in an outbreak multiplied by two, by three or by four”put the minister into perspective.
Price increase ➡️ “I would like the tariff shield to be extended” around gas, says Bruno Le Maire. “Our responsibility is to protect individuals”, adds the minister, who announces a “tariff shield for certain companies”. pic.twitter.com/JhEGFYh9NJ
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) March 1, 2022
Bruno Le Maire, however, acknowledged that “Europe may have a little more inflation”, “a slight moderate inflation” in his words, believing that “Gas prices will go up a bit”. He mentioned “a small price increase in the coming weeks, depending on the increase in energy prices”. “It is Russia that will suffer, not Europe”insisted Bruno Le Maire.