Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called on the European Union on Tuesday to tackle surging energy costs, saying it should adapt schemes deployed to handle the COVID-19 epidemic to the impact of the Ukraine conflict.

In an address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Draghi said national budgets alone could not finance the spending necessary to uphold sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine without risking domestic upheaval.

“We need strong and immediate decisions,” Draghi told the Strasbourg assembly, saying energy would be at the heart of the next European leaders’ meeting.

Source: National News Agency