A discussion on the role of Europe and new scenarios across the board

The programme. The previews

10 March 2025

3' min read

The programme of the 20th edition of the Trento Festival of Economics, organised by Il Sole 24 Ore and Trentino marketing, and promoted by the Autonomous Province with the Municipality of Trento and the University of Trento (22-25 May) is beginning to take shape.

As usual, the programme includes the participation of international experts, representatives of institutions, and opinion makers. The organisers' goal (this is the fifth edition organised by the 24 Ore Group) is to surpass the success of 2024, the record-breaking edition with 330 events and over 40,000 attendees over the four days of the Festival.

The theme of the Festival is set to occupy the debate in Italy and beyond: 'Risks and Fatal Choices. Europe at the crossroads'. What will be Europe's role in the global geopolitical scenario? What will be its relations with Trump's United States, China and Russia? What will its relations be with the new players appearing on the international scene, such as India? What role will it play in the Middle East?

The economic measures that will be used will condition relations between states. Trump's tariffs, first and foremost. In May, when the Festival begins, the picture will be clearer. It will become clear which ones will actually be applied by the United States, towards which countries, and what the responses against Washington will be. Steel, raw materials, but also finished products. Will Made in Italy also be affected or will Rome manage to avoid sanctions thanks to the privileged relationship between the Italian government and the American president? In May there will be elections in Germany, decisive for the balance in Europe. The programme of Ursula von der Leyen's Commission will be clearer.

These themes will be the platform on which the Festival will develop. The agenda of appointments will be packed and the experts involved are among the main protagonists of the debate.

As is now traditional, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi will open the event and the President of Confindustria, Emanuele Orsini, will close it. The various panels will include, among others, economists Marcello Messori and Marco Buti; the chancellors of the Catholic University of Milan, the Liuc University of Castellanza and the Milan Polytechnic, Elena Beccalli, Anna Gervasoni and Donatella Sciuto; entrepreneurs Andrea Illy, Emma Marcegaglia and Marco Tronchetti Provera; banker Francesco Micheli; EIB vice-president Gelsomina Vigliotti; Italian Episcopal Conference president Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi and Ai Information Commission president Father Paolo Benanti.

The Festival will also mark the first of a series of initiatives celebrating the 160th anniversary of Il Sole 24 Ore. The testimonies of eight readers of the newspaper selected for the institutional 'Opinion Reader' campaign will be hosted. To celebrate 160 years, in fact, an initiative involving the newspaper's community of readers has been launched. Those who wish to participate can send, by 30 March on the dedicated website (ilsole24ore.com/opinionreader), a text of a maximum of 160 characters to recount their relationship with Il Sole 24 Ore. A memory, a special moment linked to your relationship with the newspaper or the role it plays in your professional and personal life. Or, more generally, in one's community.

In spring, the Festival presentation tour will also start in Italian schools and universities. Among the confirmed stops is the Cuoa in Vicenza.