Concluded today in Rome, at the Confindustria headquarters, the 5th Franco-Italian Economic Forum between Confindustria and the Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF), an appointment that testifies to the constant work between the two associations and increasingly strong relations between Italy and France.

The presidents of Confindustria and MEDEF reaffirmed their determination to continue and strengthen their cooperation in the wake of the Quirinal Treaty, calling loudly for a strong and effective European industrial policy.

At the centre of the meeting was the competitiveness of the industrial fabric with respect to the new geopolitical scenario, support for the investments required for the transitions and the contribution of the Italian-French axis to a more solid European economy.

At the end of the work, the President of Confindustria, Carlo Bonomi and the President of MEDEF, Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux have signed a Joint Declaration - which will be sent to the representatives of the European institutions and the two national governments - with several points summarised as follows

• Confindustria and MEDEF support a rapid and ambitious reform of the European electricity marketwith efficient instruments, especially in the long term, that can make the European production system more competitive globally;
• Confindustria e MEDEF ask the European Commission to preventing the distorting effects of state aid on the internal market and of support the full use of trade defence instruments;
• Achieving ambitious EU climate and energy targets requires appropriate financial measures that can duly support investments, preventing the risk of distorting effects of state aid on the single market. To this end Confindustria and MEDEF strongly support the establishment of a fund for European sovereignty supporting industrial production capacity in strategic sectors, to be implemented in a first phase using currently available funding;
• the increasing regulatory complexity in Europe makes the investment environment less favourable compared to global competitors. This excessive legislative burden undermines the competitiveness of European companies and also significantly increases the costs they have to bear in order to be compliant. MEDEF and Confindustria call on the European Commission to take urgent action to simplify rules and regulationsalso carrying out an SME impact study for each new legislation;
• the recent proposal on packaging and packaging waste should take into account the investments made by companies in the recyclability of productsand avoid setting targets on tools as well as results because there is no single solution to impose; rather, a range of solutions to be adopted to reduce the environmental impact of packaging;
• La proposal euro 7 comes after new legislation on co2 emissions from cars and vans, as a result of which most residual exhaust emissions from new cars will disappear. In view of the impact that will already result from this new regulation, the imposition of new, excessively strict limits for all types of vehicles will put companies in an untenable situation; the same applies to the imposition of additional limits for brake and tyre emissions. in our opinion, the proposal must first of all take proper account of current production and market conditions, limit targets and deadlines, and align standards with internationally defined testing methods;
• a credible and respected economic governance framework is essential to promote debt sustainability and inclusive economic growth. However, this framework will have to ensure sufficient and adequate resources to promote public and private investment and to implement green and digital transitions;
• MEDEF and Confindustria are determined to support a permanent dialogue between all French and Italian economic actors. Businesses are ready to adapt to the new challenges of our times and to contribute to a renewed vision of Europe. The two associations will continue to work together on the issues addressed in this joint declaration, including within BusinessEurope and at the forthcoming MEDEF-Confindustria-BDI trilateral forum in Berlin in September.

Read the attached Confindustria-MEDEF joint statement.

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