'Agricultural enterprises can be decisive for the strength of the EU'

Europe must emerge from a doubt that is at the heart of the political and economic debate today: does it intend to be among those who are defining the new mechanisms and determining the balances of a new international order or - to borrow an image used in the Marseille speech by President Mattarella - to be 'happy vassals'?

After the war, far-sighted statesmen defined the core values that led to the EU. Today, however, the image is that of a 'condominium' of 27 apartment blocks that argue, quarrel, relegating the Union to the margins of international dynamics. We are facing a new world that China and the United States are building without the Old Continent.

In recent days, President Mario Draghi and other exponents have launched a heartfelt appeal for a strong and authoritative Europe: to restart from a healthy pragmatism and, with the necessary courage, give a new impetus so that the Union can give certainties and guarantees to citizens and businesses and speak with a single voice that best interprets the common interest. In this challenge, the intermediate bodies are truly 'an extraordinary tool' - as pointed out in an initiative by Confagricoltura at the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, EU Commissioner Raffaele Fitto and former Prime Minister Enrico Letta - that can provide a contribution to the momentum and avoid a weakening of the pro-European sentiment that underpins our economy and our life today, as also reiterated by Carlo Sangalli, president of Confcommercio, a few days ago.

As Confagricoltura, we are firmly convinced that it is necessary to think with a broad and long-term strategy, capable of imagining the future and defining tools and paths for growth. To the Italian government, which has two and a half years to go before the end of its legislature, we have given ideas and elements to outline the strategies necessary for companies to be more competitive, not to be subjected to international dynamics, but to be protagonists of them. We have strengthened our commitment to ensure not only food safety, but top quality production, in line with new consumer demands, with a favourable approach to innovation and technology to preserve natural resources and improve working conditions. In order to continue building a high-performance, sustainable agricultural model characterised by increasingly skilled labour, we need further investment and a different European approach. We also lack important elements, such as adequate infrastructure, easier access to non-EU labour, and solidity and stability in trade relations. The time has come to find solid solutions to increase our productivity, starting with the NRP projects to be finalised by next spring to those post 2026. We expect strong consultation to identify the best paths.

In relation to US tariffs, I still trust in government intervention in defence of the Italian agri-food industry, which is the first item on the GDP and which cannot be the victim of such a penalising agreement. There is a sector, agriculture, that has always given guarantees to Europe - think of the Covid period - and has always paid the bill at the end of the day: on all international treaties, when there was an agreement to be made, the primary sector was always the Cinderella. The time has come to say enough is enough. In the agreement between the US and the EU it is clearly stated that Europe will undertake to increase imports of agricultural products from the US. It should be strongly emphasised that we simply cannot afford this: on the one hand we pay tariffs and on the other we also have to increase imports, which are not always in line with our safety and quality standards. So, either we say that Italian and European agriculture are no longer needed, and we will have to get over it - although we disagree and continue to fight to protect our farmers - or, on the contrary, we demand more attention from the European legislator, because it cannot always be only agriculture that pays the bill. Think of the previous Trump administration and the 20% tariffs imposed on French and Spanish wine: this resulted in a 24% drop in sales. If we go by analogy, this means that we will have a drop in sales of Italian wines, European wines, Italian cheeses, European cheeses, pasta and all our agri-food products probably by the same percentage; or, a lower added value for the entire supply chain. But a possible drop in added value is a price we cannot afford. It would, in fact, be a backward step against a concrete commitment that agriculture has been able to make in terms of sustainability: a tangible contribution in which the so-called intermediate bodies have invested, building not only a new shared sensitivity that is now necessary to operate in today's economy, but also elements of growth based on training, innovation, work, welfare, and the strong link with the territories.