Italy"s energy transition minister said on Tuesday that the country was better position in terms of gas supplies this winter than its northern European Union partners. The European Commission is studying introducing a system for EU countries to jointly buy gas on a voluntary basis to form strategic reserves as it looks to tackle soaring energy prices. Roberto Cingolani said it was still not clear if high energy prices would be temporary or longer lasting, with some analysts now fearing high prices could drag on into 2023. "Italy shouldn"t run this risk," Cingolani said in a parliamentary hearing, adding that Italy"s gas storage situation was the best in Europe. European gas prices hit record highs in October amid tight supplies and high demand from global economies recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. Rome has stumped up billions of euros to offset rises in retail energy costs in consumer bills in recent months, but is now studying a series of structural reforms. "No EU state feels secure enough yet to carry out structural reform (of the energy market)," he said. Cingolani said possible measures could include increasing national gas production and cutting systems charges in consumer bills by reducing taxes and reforming previous solar incentives. Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Agnieszka Flak and Alexander Smith Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.