ROME (Dow Jones)--Italian natural gas stockpiles are sufficient to meet the country's needs this winter in the event Russian supplies don't restart, said Industry Minister Claudio Scajola Wednesday.
"We predictably expect to be able to make it through winter even without Russian gas supplies," said Scajola at a parliamentary hearing in Rome to discuss the current spat between OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) and Ukraine's Naftogaz that has halted Russian gas to the European Union via Ukraine.
The E.U.'s energy policy must focus on the security of supplies, including boosting gas interconnection between member states and stockpile levels, the minister added.