Council revises Italy escape clause for energy security spending

The Council of the European Union has issued a correction to its recommendation allowing Italy to deviate from the maximum growth rates of net expenditure under Regulation (EU) 2024/1263 by activating the national escape clause.

• The corrected recital clarifies that the Commission’s 3 June 2026 communication and 18 August 2026 notice allow extra flexibility for energy security measures that are nationally financed, have a direct budgetary impact, and were decided after 28 February 2026.
• It also confirms the fiscal limits: the existing 1.5% of GDP cap stays unchanged for defence- and energy-related flexibility, while energy security measures are limited to 0.3% of GDP per year and 0.6% of GDP cumulatively by end-2028.