With his government’s fate in limbo, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is visiting Algiers on Monday to finalise deals seeking to boost Italy’s gas supplies as Europeans brace for a possible cut-off of Russian gas.
The Italian delegation includes a range of high-ranking ministers – including the foreign minister, interior minister, justice minister and ecological transition ministers – showing just how important the government considers the meeting. They’ll hold a day of talks, meet with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and sign joint agreements.
Algeria is set to replace Russia as Italy’s main gas supplier, after energy giant Sonatrach and Italy’s ENI reached a major agreement to increase gas exports during a trip by Draghi to Algeria in April. EU countries have scrambled to diversify energy sources since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Monday’s trip comes at a precarious time for Draghi, who had to cut it a day short because of political troubles at home. A main partner in his pandemic unity government, the populist 5-Star Movement, boycotted a confidence vote in the senate last week on an energy costs relief bill, jeopardising the survival of the 17-month-old government.
Draghi tendered his resignation following the vote, but it was rejected by President Sergio Mattarella in the hope he would find a consensus to stave off early elections at a time of international tumult and economic tension.
The political turmoil has forced Draghi to reduce his Algeria visit from two days to just one.
Amid concerns that payments for Russian gas and oil are funding President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, Europe is trying to stop its reliance on Russian natural gas imports in anticipation of a potential Russian cut-off in retaliation for EU sanctions.
Prior to the war, Russia provided Italy about 29 billion cubic meters of gas per year, compared with about 23 billion from Algeria. Already this year Algeria has delivered 13.9 billion cubic meters to Italy via the Trans-Mediterranean pipeline, a 113% rise over forecasts, according to Algerian energy giant Sonatrach. Algeria on Friday announced a 4 billion cubic-meter increase in planned supplies for the months ahead.
Italy is especially dependent on natural gas to generate electricity, heat and cool homes, and power its industry. Italy has also been reaching out to other energy-producing nations to secure alternate sources, including Azerbaijan, Qatar, Congo, Angola and Mozambique.
