Today Alessandro Fontana, Director of the Confindustria Studies Centre, spoke at a hearing before the Budget Committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic on the Economic and Financial Document 2023.

The economic scenario, while improving compared to a few months ago, remains substantially weak and requires decisive action on at least three fronts:

• The support for lower incomesmost affected by inflationary pressures;
• The support for business investmentalso by strengthening Industry 4.0 and with measures to increase energy efficiency and accelerate the environmental transition;
• the defence of companies subject to loss of competitiveness due to still high energy prices.

The reactivation of the Stability and Growth Pact rules from next year requires theidentification of a deficit and debt management strategy consistent with a gradual rebalancing of public accounts, which avoids further strains on interest rates on government debt and on households and businesses.

Careful management of resources, which should also be reflected in a careful spending review, should in our view lead the legislator to focus its efforts on the key points listed above. In view of the meagre budget resources envisaged for the current and next year by the DEF, the extraordinary resources deriving from the PNRR, from RepowerEu and the cohesion fundswhose full and effective use, overcoming uncertainties and delays, is de facto imperative.

Furthermore, it must be emphasised once again that modernisation and raising the country's growth potential require not only financial resources, reforms are crucial starting with those foreseen in the NRP, on which there has been a certain lessening of attention.

Here is the link to the document http://www.confindustria.it//home/policy/audizioni-parlamentari/dettaglio/DEF-2023