MILAN - Italy's government will soon discuss measures to speed up the authorisation processes for renewable energy projects to help cut its dependence on Russian gas, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Thursday.
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Italy is heavily dependent on Russia for its gas imports, but Draghi said that the country must push forward with the diversification of suppliers and the expansion of alternative energy sources, particularly renewables.
"Getting rid of gas dependence is difficult but can be something we look at, especially if the war continues with the atrocities we have seen," he said after meeting the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in Rome.
"We must make easier the authorisation process that today is slowing the installation of new energy sources", Draghi added.
"I believe there is a favourable consensus in the government. It is a matter of proceeding with speed, and we will do that in the next cabinet meeting or in the following one", he said.
Draghi and Rutte expressed their closeness to the Ukrainian people and called for a ceasefire following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.