The FT is reporting a forthcoming EU paper on energy policy, which apparently notes, with almost preposterous understatement, that Europe's disadvantage in energy prices has increased somewhat in recent years.
Industrialists are not so sanguine.
Paolo Scaroni, chief executive of the Italian oil and gas company, Eni, said in a speech at the weekend that lower American energy costs had created a “massive competitive advantage for the US” that was driving investors and businesses to that country at a rapid pace. “This is a real emergency for Europe,” he said.