Euro zone governments cannot fully shield their economies from the surge in energy prices and will focus on protecting the most vulnerable through exceptional, targeted and temporary income measures, a draft statement of euro zone finance ministers said.
The draft, prepared for talks of the ministers of the 19 countries sharing the euro in Luxembourg on Monday, said national measures would be coordinated to protect cross-border competition in the European Union.
“It is our responsibility to mitigate the adverse impact of this external shock on our economies,” the draft statement, seen by Reuters, said.
“Nevertheless, such measures will weigh increasingly on our national budgets and may, in some cases, slow down the necessary adjustment of energy demand,” it said.
