Italian companies are doing well, "deserve an eight and are ready to restart, but the government must support those who invest. Measures are needed that go beyond the Pnrr"Confindustria President Emanuele Orsini said in an interview with Corriere della Sera.

"As is well known, we are coming from a slowdown in industrial growth that started at the end of 2022 and we are still suffering the repercussions. However, the Istat forecasts that see a growth of 1% correspond to the elaborations of our study centre and tell us that it is a goal within reach"Orsini added on the health of the Italian economy, emphasising the export trend: 'According to Ice data, with 626 billion a year we have become the fifth country in the world for manufacturing exports after China, the USA, Germany and Japan. The goal is to surpass Japan, today at 663 billion. And it is a realistic goal'.

From the budget manoeuvre Confindustria expects "An investment incentive plan that goes beyond the NRP and thus beyond 2026: companies need medium-term horizons. The confirmation of the cut in the tax wedge for 2025. The reinstatement of the Acea measure that favours the capital growth of companies'. What is not needed,' Orsini pointed out, 'are single time bonuses and small windfall contributions. To finance these measures, 'the only way is to reconfigure public spending and divert resources to the sectors that generate the most growth. In this sense, a reorganisation of tax expenditures would make sense'.

"For our part, we will undertake to present proposals at zero cost," he said. The leader of the industrialists added, citing two examples: "The 231 regulation is an enormous bureaucratic burden for companies, which always feel at risk (even on a technicality) of seeing their business commissioned and thus blocked before being judged. 231 is designed to apply equally to companies with turnovers ranging from 2 million to several billion. We must use a system similar to the white list system as in Emilia-Romagna after the earthquake. Lists of companies in good standing that are guaranteed by the prefecture. Legal certainty is fundamental'. The second zero-cost measure concerns the 'monitoring of the professional profiles needed by our companies in order to be able to give an accurate representation and to orientate teaching' because 'We do not find people to hire. We have to train people directly in their own country: Confindustria Alto Adriatico has already activated an experience of this type'.

Orsini therefore relaunched the idea of a 'house plan' 'financed with patient capitalwhose return on investment is not less than 30 years' and the need to restart the dialogue with the trade unions: 'The changes triggered by innovations in the production system, starting with AI, will require a new phase of bargaining at various levels. Confindustria and trade unions must return to confrontation. Let's start again from the 2018 Factory Pact. And let's start again with job security. I count on meeting the three trade unions soon'.

On the subject of energy, President Orsini said: 'Today we pay twice as much for energy as our competitors' average price. Italian industry pays on average twice as much as other European countries. In May we even reached a peak by paying 86 euro per megawatt hour against 13 euro in Spain. A single European energy cost is needed. Because those who are farsighted understand that we are all stronger if we are part of an overall more competitive Europe. I addressed this issue with Medef, the French confederation of industry, and found more openness than I expected'.

On automotive, 'we welcome the interest of new automotive players in our country, as long as they are not mere assemblers and are committed to having most of the components produced in Italy,' and on Ilva Orsini noted: 'Steel production is strategic for our country. Large international groups have come forward, but also Italian ones. Going back to legal certainty, clear stakes must be put in place to prevent new investors from finding themselves under investigation for environmental crimes as soon as they arrive'.