Lombardy's battle to save the automotive industry continues

(Il Soler 24 Ore Radiocor) - The European automotive plan presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is a step in the right direction but still not enough to safeguard a key sector of the European and Italian economy. The Lombardy Region's Councillor for Economic Development, Guido Guidesi, described it as 'an opening towards an ailing sector but not enough to stem the decline and maintain competitiveness on the international scene'. The occasion to take stock of these issues was the summit of the 'North-West Economic Cabin' convened in Brescia by councillor Guidesi, which was attended by his counterparts from Piedmont and Liguria, Andrea Tronzano and Alessio Piana, and the leading Italian and European representatives of the sector's associations, during which Guidesi explained how the European regulations need to be further changed to make 'ecological neutrality' a reality. "The 'electric only' concept remains an incredible assist to the Chinese. We have activated a team effort that has led to reopening the debate, but we must not stop there,' Guidesi added. 'The European Commission - with whom Guidesi has intensified meetings in recent weeks - has taken a step forward, but it is not enough to save the European automotive industry, so we must continue to find the necessary majority in Europe that will allow us to correct the glaring errors that have been made,' he continued, emphasising that Lombardy will continue its battle to avoid what for Guidesi 'would be a resounding economic suicide'.

In fact, the Region wants to continue to focus on industrial policy and on the need to strengthen institutional alliances, at Italian and European level, to defend the production fabric, companies, workers and families, strengthening the specific weight of the 'Lombardy system' on the discussion tables with Brussels and Rome. It should also be recalled that, at the beginning of the year, Lombardy took the lead in the Automotive Regions Alliance (Ara), the alliance of 36 European regions committed to facilitating the transition of the automotive industry and its allied industries while protecting companies, skills and jobs, at the culmination of a three-year journey made up of meetings, analyses strategies and a Manifesto signed by almost all the main stakeholders in the sector and then submitted to the previous European Commission to reiterate the need to achieve the environmental objectives set by the EU through 'technological neutrality', i.e. through all the opportunities offered by science, from hydrogen to alternative fuels, without limiting the choices to electric cars. In its work, Lombardy has involved Italian and European regions of different political colours to safeguard a fundamental sector in the Continent's economy, which in Lombardy alone is worth more than 30,000 companies and 100,000 workers, with a total turnover of more than EUR 40 billion.