Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, in a written answer on 27 July 2026, ruled out adopting EU-specific measures to curb food inflation in vulnerable regions such as Sicily and southern Italy, instead urging member states to use existing EU tools and fiscal policies to mitigate the impact on the most fragile households. The answer, responding to a question by Giuseppe Antoci (The Left), reaffirms that inflation control is primarily the mandate of the European System of Central Banks under Article 127 TFEU, while the Commission and member states support this through fiscal and structural policies.
Dombrovskis highlighted the AccelerateEU Package of 22 April 2026, which includes a State Aid Temporary Framework and commitments to use cohesion policy funds for decarbonisation, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. He also pointed to EU agricultural, fisheries, and trade policies as fostering food supply at reasonable prices, and cohesion policy as helping address value-chain bottlenecks. However, he explicitly stated the Commission does not envisage adopting specific measures to curb food inflation in specific regions, instead encouraging member states to implement temporary, targeted, and fiscally sustainable measures, especially in high-debt countries, while preserving price incentives to reduce fossil fuel demand. The answer contains no new numerical targets, deadlines, or concrete proposals beyond existing frameworks.
The policy orientation is one of subsidiarity, placing the burden on national governments and existing EU instruments rather than new regional interventions. Institutional follow-up is limited to ongoing implementation of the AccelerateEU Package and cohesion policy programs.
vulnerable households in southern Italy, who will not receive direct EU aid; the Italian government, which must design its own targeted measures; EU producers in agriculture and fisheries, who benefit from existing trade and cohesion policies; and EU taxpayers, who fund the existing frameworks without additional spending.