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21 May 2026

Giorgetti: optimistic about pact waiver: 'Rational Italian proposal'

International trade with tariffs imposed by the United States, the social economy and agriculture. These are some of the topics at the centre of the second day of the Trento Festival of Economics organised by the 24 Ore Group and Trentino Marketing on behalf of the Autonomous Province of Trento

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21 May 2026Pinned update

Giorgetti: optimistic about accepting EU Stability Pact derogation

"These negotiations are lengthy and require explanations even in non-sufficient fora. It is an issue that is also discussed on the sidelines like with Commissioner Dombrovskis. The optimism I have with regard to acceptance stems from the rationality of our proposal'.

This was said by the Minister for the Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, from the Trento Festival of Economics, in connection with Cyprus, regarding the hypothesis that the European Commission might accept derogations to the Stability Pact linked to the energy emergency.

"It is a rational approach that does not jeopardise the long-term sustainability of public finance," Giorgetti added.

21 May 2026

Burlando (Bancomat): crucial infrastructure

"Every currency that has had geopolitical weight has relied on an infrastructure that guaranteed its functioning and, at critical moments, control. The Americans, for example, have been very good at building the necessary infrastructure for payments, capable of accepting more than just dollars. This is why European monetary sovereignty does not end with the choice of currency but also concerns the choice of infrastructure'. This was emphasised by Bancomat CEO Fabrizio Burlando during his speech at the Trento Festival of Economics,

For Burlando, 'the two things are not separable, and if Europe wants its currency - whether public or private, digital or not - to have real autonomy, it has to build the circuits on which to run it through deep-rooted national infrastructures capable of interoperating. If we think of the future, represented by stablecoins, it is not enough to issue a currency'.

"Here again, the infrastructure counts. A euro stablecoin,' he added, 'is not enough, it would be a copy of the American ones. It matters who issues it, where the reserves are, what architecture the stablecoin travels on. The architecture is the real long-term value. Stablecoins are a great innovation but at the same time a major player behind the risk the dollar is taking. We believe in a European way with an institutional stablecoin based on the euro and in full harmony with the banking system that can be a much less risky solution than a dollar stablecoin'.

21 May 2026

Minasi (Lega), 45,000 job applications confirm the value of the Strait Bridge

"The words of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Matteo Salvini at the Trento Festival of Economics photograph a reality that is there for all to see: the Ponte sullo Stretto is no longer a dream in the drawer, but a certainty that is already mobilising the best energies of the country and the world. The more than 45,000 job applications that have arrived in just a few days are a clear demonstration of the hunger for the future, development and employment that our territory expresses. And that we are on the right track'. This was stated in a note by the Reggio Calabria senator of the League, Tilde Minasi. "The bridge,' she continued, 'represents the largest investment plan and the most powerful driver of economic and employment development ever seen in Calabria and the entire Mezzogiorno. We are not only talking about an extraordinary engineering work that the world will envy us, but about a construction site that will generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs". "Next 24 and 25 May," Minasi stressed, "with the upcoming municipal elections, the citizens of Reggio have a unique opportunity to finally close a failed page that has lasted fourteen years of administrative darkness and resignation. The centre-right is ready to return to the leadership of the city with a vision of development, concreteness and redemption. Having a strong, cohesive municipal administration that is finally in line with the national government and the League-led Ministry of Infrastructure means guaranteeing Reggio Calabria a central role in the governance of this historic change'.

21 May 2026

Giuli: Mic available for Palazzo Labia in Venice

'On Palazzo Labia I made an inspection a few hours ago. I manifested, as the Ministry of Culture, the total availability of the Mic so that a palace of such historical relevance could remain available to the public'. This was said by the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, speaking at the Festival of Economics in Trento, in reference to the headquarters of RAI Veneto.

21 May 2026

La Lumia (Avvocati Milano): AI increases professional responsibility

'With the use of artificial intelligence, the concept of the professional's responsibility becomes increasingly important'. This is the view of Antonino La Lumia, president of the Milan Bar Association, speaking at the panel 'Work in the Pincer: Artificial Intelligence, Low Wages, Training to Improve', as part of the Festival of Economics.

Who is accountable for the error when faced with a decision suggested by an algorithm 'is always the professional', who, 'relates with the client', adds La Lumia, explaining that 'competence upstream is essential and whoever has a relationship of trust with the client has full responsibility'.

"Today, two out of three lawyers are using artificial intelligence systems and are convinced that it will have a positive economic impact on the profession," says La Lumia, emphasising that "the legal profession is getting a lot of training" on this.

"Training must be central", also because the real risk is that of an anthropological mutation, therefore, there must always be a garrison, otherwise we risk being dominated by AI with the brain atrophying".

21 May 2026

Lombardi (Fii), patient capital is needed to accelerate productivity

"In a context of increasing geopolitical tensions and sanctioning trade policies, we need patient finance to accompany industrial transformation and provide patient capital to accelerate productivity and capital to fuel exports and help the resilience of the country's strategic companies and supply chains.

This was stated by Domenico Lombardi, managing director of the Fondo Italiano d'Investimento (Fii), speaking at a conference at the Festival of Economics in Trento, adding that this 'is what the Fondo Italiano d'Investimento does'.

According to the top manager, 'reflections are needed to keep alive the lesson of Bretton Woods, i.e. to give importance to the link between politics and economic policy and to put inclusiveness at the centre with the ability to maintain a dialogue between all states'.

21 May 2026

Tamburi (Alpitour): IPO slips

Alpitour's stock market listing is postponed due to the uncertainty in the sector caused by the geopolitical context and will therefore not take place in 2026, but the group wants to be ready to take advantage of any rebound in demand.

This was told to Radiocor by Giovanni Tamburi,main shareholder of the tour operator through Tip (and the Asset Italia 1 vehicle), on the sidelines of an event at the Festival of Economics.

In the past few months there had been talk of 2026-27 as a possible window for landing on Piazza Affari.

"We have postponed the timing of the IPO, or other things, because with this situation the tourism market is suffering a bit: nothing serious, but we have to take our time," said the financier.

Move to 2027? "Let's see, we had a council yesterday and everyone expects that when the war ends there will be a big rebound," Tamburi added, emphasising that the current perception is that there is a "great desire to travel":

"We still have the hotels full, some 90 per cent, some 80 per cent, so there is a lot of appetite for tourism.

In the meantime we are reinforcing the call centres in the hope that when new demand arrives we will start again.

Alpitour closed its last financial year in October with 2.3 billion in revenues and a gross operating margin of 162.4 million.

21 May 2026

Scotti (Bankitalia): more inclusive digital euro

"The digital euro was born because the digital part of the banknotes is missing and can be much more inclusive.

Chiara Scotti, deputy director general of the Bank of Italia, said this during the Festival of Economics in Trento.

"With the current systems," he added, "there are people who are on the margins of payments for various reasons.
The digital euro, on the other hand, is designed to reach all categories of people. Basic services would be free for citizens and so in that sense it will be more inclusive than other methods. The digital euro will also have a brand name and will be easily recognisable.
With the digital euro there will be an off-line mode so that in the event of a blackout you can continue to make payments, which will then be accounted for when you come back online".
Scotti went on to point out that "crypto assets are high-risk forms of investment, very different from the digital euro, which is instead a currency".

21 May 2026

Bentivogli: re-found training on Ai

"Artificial intelligence has great strength, but it actually breaks down work, that is, theidea of the worker is challenged by AI". This is the view of Marco Bentivogli, national coordinator of Base Italia, speaking at the panel 'Work in the Pincer: Artificial Intelligence, low wages, training to improve', as part of the Festival of Economics.

Starting from the observation that artificial intelligence brings risks of 'inequality', as it 'creates a gap between those who are involved as protagonists in the processes of AI adoption and those who are marginalised by it', Bentivogli, emphasises that 'everything depends on what we put in place: whether we build skills, quality work and strategies'.

Artificial intelligence, adds the former Fim Cisl metalworkers' trade unionist, performs 'meta-cognitive work with great ease but struggles with the sense-motor components'.

Since the beginning of 2026, there has been talk of 'physical AI' that has the ability to interact with the physical world.

In this scenario, 'we need to refocus training in a more personalised way on people', Bentivogli emphasised, noting that 'we still have a Fordist method with the same learning methods and syllabuses for everyone'.

Moreover, in Italia 'we are still at a very low level' of AI adoption, which instead 'is a game to be played'. "Staying out of it has a gigantic impact on work, people and businesses, much bigger than trying to play it."

21 May 2026

Malagò: positive spin-offs from the Olympics were there

'There is a large section of media colleagues who want to interpret these numbers by highlighting the not necessarily obvious and positive side of the event. Investing in quality during the Winter Games was a precise shared choice, with which we wanted to give a message from our country, an investment for the whole of Italia.
And there were positive spin-offs," said Giovanni Malagò, president of the Milan Cortina 2026 Foundation, responding to a question about the Foundation's budget deficit, during the panel 'From Olympic medals to the economy of life' at the Trento Festival of Economics.

21 May 2026

Giovanni Malagò: The impact of an Olympics goes beyond costs

by Marco Bellinazzo and Maria Luisa Colledani

Dalle medaglie olimpiche all’economia della vita Nella foto: Laura Pirovano; Giovanni Malagò; Marco Bellinazzo

The Olympics have had positive repercussions in terms of the country's image and economy, but these will produce their effects in terms of impact on the territory, an increase in local GDP and related tax revenues in the medium to long term. But 'there is a large section of media colleagues who want to interpret these numbers by highlighting only the cost side, which is not necessarily obvious and positive for the event. Investing in quality during the Winter Games was a precise shared choice, with which we wanted to give a message from our country, an investment for the whole of Italia. And, I repeat, there were positive spin-offs'.

The President of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Foundation, Giovanni Malagò, wished to emphasise the time discrepancies that make the evaluation of the Olympic budget complex, between immediate expenditures and more lasting economic returns, trying to circumscribe the Foundation's controversy.

21 May 2026

De Pedys (Simest), on financial markets 50% volumes generated by algorithms

"It is estimated that more than 50 per cent of the volume in equities is generated by algorithms. On the buyer's side it is about 40%. Quantitative systems (e.g. Hft, execution algos, market making, statistical models, now also models driven by artificial intelligence) increase systemic risk because they reduce the ability of traditional traders to take the opposite side of trades, which are basically short trend-followers and subject to continuous reversals'.

This was said by Simest chairman and university professor Vittorio de Pedys during the Trento Festival of Economics.

"It is evident," he added, "that there is an increase in short-term volatility, which is very much influenced by the latest news and which one has to live with. In the long term, on the other hand, volatility is just a higher price to pay to participate, but it does not invalidate the ability, when it exists, to independently assess trends and opportunities. I prefer to use long-term metrics for this purpose. The results over many years have proved me right so far,' de Pedys added.

Regarding the current set-up of the financial markets, de Pedys pointed out that "the European markets are not the same as the American markets and the multiplication of trading venues, far from improving the search for best execution, has only resulted in a loss of liquidity and a fragmentation of trading. One only has to look at the collapse in volumes on the SME segments of all exchanges and the frankly worrying increasing number of delistings. Much better to concentrate exchanges on the official market and instead encourage the multiplication of investors.

21 May 2026

Del Conte (Bocconi): fair wage is positive news

The introduction of the fair wage is 'a positive novelty' and 'it is useful to become aware of it and work to make it work'. This is the view of Maurizio Del Conte, professor of labour law at Bocconi University, speaking at the 'Labour in the Pincer: Artificial Intelligence, low wages, training to improve' panel at the Festival of Economics, in light of the new labour decree, dubbed 'First of May', in which, on the one hand, existing bonuses to support employment are confirmed and, on the other, measures such as the 'fair wage' are introduced.

According to Del Conte, "the need to improve collective bargaining and to link wages to good bargaining is a need that is felt in this country". Regarding bonuses, "since they were introduced in 2016, an era has passed," Del Conte adds.

The labour market today 'needs something else, it needs a leap in quality rather than quantity'.

This also includes the issue of skills, which in Italia 'are levelled downwards' and this generates 'a perverse spiral', points out Del Conte. In fact, 'if the skill level is low, so is the production outlook and added value,' he explains.

Furthermore, he observes, one has to ask oneself 'whether young people lack skills or it is companies that do not demand skills. In reality the two things are together and are just spiralling downwards. So we need to break this spiral'.

21 May 2026

Systemic power China: global interlocutor, no longer just antagonist

Stefania Arcudiby Stefania Arcudi

Il grande momento della Cina  Nella foto: Paolo Magri; Alberto Forchielli; Giada Messetti; Michele Geraci IMAGOECONOMICA

China is now a systemic power and its weight in the current scenario cannot be ignored. There is no shortage of examples: if Beijing accelerates on the electric car, it changes European industry, if it restricts exports of rare earths, it transforms world economic security, its intervention can change the direction of a conflict. And while the country carefully plans the path for its future, it remains to be seen whether, for the Western world, it represents more of an opportunity or a risk factor.

"It is difficult to say that China represents an opportunity. It is penalising us strongly, but much of it is our fault. On the face of it, it has few weak points, for example consumption that does not take off, but which is compensated for by an explosion in exports that is growing by more than 20% per year,' said Alberto Forchielli, founding partner of Mindful Capital Partners, speaking during the panel 'China's big moment' as part of the Trento Festival of Economics.

21 May 2026

Acea: business plan in continuity with last three years

"We are going to make a business plan that, clearly, can only be in continuity on the path already traced in these three years," says Acea CEO Fabrizio Palermo, in view of the business plan update that will be on the table of the new board of directors, which will be appointed by the next shareholders' meeting.

"Acea has grown a lot in the last three years," he said from the Trento Festival of Economics.
Today Acea is a group positioned on the theme of infrastructure safety and resilience, whether it be water infrastructure, energy infrastructure, environmental infrastructure. And this is the path it has been following for years and will continue to follow'.

21 May 2026

Crosetto: power is measured in the control of technology

"Investing in security, in technology, in research means investing in the future, it means giving the future a chance, creating opportunities in the most advanced areas of innovation, engineering, cybersecurity, space and artificial intelligence.

It means giving the new generations the chance to build growth, stability, development and to be able to think that a future can be built in Italy, not a B or C series future, but a connected future with a decent salary, something that can be found in high-tech sectors'.

 

This was said by Defence Minister Guido Crosetto during his speech in a video message sent to the Trento Festival of Economics. "Today," Crosetto observed, "power is no longer measured only by the traditional instruments of politics and economics, it is measuredmainly in the control of technologies, data, energy, digital infrastructures, artificial intelligence, logistical networks or strategic raw materials.

The world has changed, indeed it is changing all the time, fast, and it would be a mistake not to take note of it.

We live in an increasingly interconnected reality, in which an international crisis or a conflict thousands of kilometres away can have immediate effects on the lives of every person, on our daily lives, on the lives of our families,' he concluded.

21 May 2026

Renzi: Salvini talks of elections because the League is losing support

Salvini speaks of elections 'because he knows that with each passing day the League loses consensus. A part goes towards Vannacci and a part, paradoxically, is so disappointed that it votes centre-left. Just think how they are.

So Salvini has the need to go and vote'. This was said by Matteo Renzi talking to reporters during the Festival of Economics in Trento. According to the Iv leader, 'it would be right because since Meloni lost the referendum she doesn't get one right anymore. I agree with Salvini's proposal. The problem is not that Meloni does not agree, she is clinging to her chair. When Salvini returned to Rome they gave him a head flush. So I agree that Salvini has already changed his mind again'. For Renzi, 'the centre-left has all the conditions to win, because it will be a four-pointed centre-left, as they say in these cases. It will be decisive to take some votes from the disappointed. Now, paradoxically, having to play it from a strictly utilitarian point of view, the centre-left would be better off leaving them there a little longer. The longer we wait, the more they are overcooked, but the problem is not how overcooked they are, the problem is how overcooked the country is, because real wages are falling, the public debt as a percentage of GDP is growing compared to other European countries, we have a record tax burden of 43.1%, every day that passes Meloni is heading towards the relegation zone,' Renzi said.

21 May 2026

D'Alema: China is stronger than us

"China is stronger than we are. It has not broken the relationship between politics and culture and maintains the idea that politics must continue to guide social processes. Either democracy becomes capable of leading social processes again, or the countries where political leadership has been defended will be stronger than us'. This was said by Massimo D'Alema speaking at the panel 'The night of the Republic: old and new protagonists'.

21 May 2026

Cohesion and investment: the EU route to curb China and the US

Luca Orlandoby Luca Orlando

No middle ground between war and peace? No, Cicero was wrong,' explains Ambassador Michele Valensise, and what is happening between the United States, China and Europe demonstrates this plastically. Of course, in the days of the great Roman orator, relations between states were much simpler and clearer, or black and white. Whereas today the confrontation between the great powers is also made up of nuances, somewhere between strategic rivalry and interdependence.

Comparing the three areas, the objective of the debate between economists at the Trento Festival of Economics, means first of all taking note of an epochal change that has occurred as a result of the new wave of protectionism. "If in the past, with globalisation, it was the market, i.e. companies, that guided the localisation of plants and technologies," argues Giovanni Tria, "now we act according to geopolitical principles, interventions by states not directed to collective goods, such as the environment, but to protect national priorities".

21 May 2026

Lollobrigida: EU wrong to impose rules only on companies

"Europe is making strategic mistakes, continuing to imagine itself inside a bubble, as if it were an island where it cannot impose rules within the world market, it only imposes them on its own entrepreneurs.
If you impose too many rules on your own entrepreneurs on pesticides, technologies and labour, production decreases and for the same consumption you are forced to import'. This was said by Francesco Lollobrigica, Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty.

21 May 2026

Government, Bisignani: 'It is a besieged fortress and closed in on itself, it does not look ahead'

"For the last three years Palazzo Chigi has been a besieged fortress, always small, that does not look ahead, does not expand its space, but always closes in on itself". This was the judgement of journalist and writer Luigi Bisignani in his speech at the Festival dell'Economia, responding to the suggestions of the director of Il Giornale, Tommaso Cerno, on the need for strategic choices that would, for example, valorise and modernise Italy's real estate heritage with a national plan. If the President of the Council, in this remnant of the legislature, 'would open the windows of Palazzo Chigi a little, call up the most important intelligences in the country, perhaps this speech could be made'.

21 May 2026

AI, Ponzellini: 'Europe's role will be on regulation and democratic principles'

Europe's role as AI technologies advance will be to 'regulate these things'. Thus former banker Massimo Ponzellini in his speech at the 'Night of the Republic' panel at the Festival of Economics. "We cannot be the ones to invent artificial intelligence, but we have to follow its development carefully: we will find branches and niches in which to be the best, but above all we will be able to dictate what is now missing, namely the legal framework, moral principles, the fields of administrative jurisdiction," Ponzellini said. "We will have to regulate these things: this is where I see the role of the democratic worlds.

21 May 2026

Musumeci: Earthquake in the Phlegraean Fields, 600 million allocated

21 May 2026

Euro, Palenzona: 'Leap in the dark cost dearly, there was no ruling class left'

"The euro was a leap in the dark that cost us dearly: we had the ambition to be together with the others but we did not have a political class suited to guarantee a transition that would not kill Italia, as then happened". This was said by Fabrizio Palenzona, chairman of Prelios Group, at the Festival of Economics. "A prepared ruling class had disappeared," he continued with reference to Mani Pulite: "In '93 we did not eliminate corruption, we eliminated the parties starting from the misunderstanding of illicit party financing that we all knew was there and how it worked. It was an excuse not to hit corruption but to hit the parties and that was a damage'.

21 May 2026

De Gennaro (GdF): widespread evasion among influencers and digital creators

Giovanni Parenteby Giovanni Parente

Economia sommersa, l’altra faccia dell’Italia Nella foto: Andrea De Gennaro

The evasion of influencers and digital creators 'continues to be wide and widespread' but the fight goes on in synergy with the Revenue Agency with a joint activity plan that 'tries to identify the disproportion between declared income and various contents, views, the number of subscribers to the channel: often there is a strong disproportion'. This is one of the aspects mentioned by Andrea De Gennaro, commanding general of the Guardia di Finanza, during his speech in the panel 'Submerged economy, the other face of Italia' at the Festival of Economics in Trento, organised by Sole 24 Ore and Trentino Marketing.

21 May 2026

Niscemi, Musumeci: 'Understand why for 30 years those who knew did not act'

"On Niscemi there is the government's commitment to work for the plan that was proposed by the head of the Civil Protection department. I proposed, and the Council of Ministers agreed, to make available 150 million euro. It is clear that, in parallel with the action of the government, there is that of the judiciary, and so I avoid making considerations, because I have great respect for the role of the magistrates. We must understand why for 30 years those who knew did not act. This is the big question to which the judiciary will have to give an answer'. This was said by Nello Musumeci, Minister for Civil Protection and Sea Policies, on the sidelines of the Trento Festival of Economics.

21 May 2026

De Gennaro: 'On platforms new forms of undeclared work'

21 May 2026

Savona: 'My successor at Consob? Important that he is good'

The risks of not electing a Consob chairman? 'In the short term none, because the people, who are there, are able to carry forward a programme that I had left and that they shared. So, at the end of the story, the judgement can only be political and I am not the one to give it'.

Paolo Savona, former minister and chairman of the Commission that oversees the markets, draws the line under his experience during an interview with Radiocor on the sidelines of the Trento Economics Festival. The economist, whose term at the helm of Consob ended at the beginning of March, does not commit himself to his successor: 'Who would I choose? That's not my job', explaining instead that 'the important thing is that he is good'. Asked whether he somehow misses his job at the Commission, he seems to have no doubts: 'No, it has been seven tiring years, age does not allow me to do so, and I have gone back to working with my brain, independently'.

The debate on the future number one of the Commission, he suggests, should however be understood in a broader sense: 'The future of Consob is in Esma, which is the European Consob', just as it was for 'the Banca d'Italia in the ECB'. But, in conclusion, is a technician or a politician preferable? 'The debate does not excite me,' smiles Savona.

21 May 2026

Submerged, De Gennaro: 'Estimate over 200 billion, combine prevention and repression'

As far as the submerged economy is concerned, the estimate is 'over 200 billion; these are estimated values, we are talking about a part of the economy that is not known, the values can only be estimates', as they can 'represent 9, 10, 11 GDP points, but the phenomenon is complex'. This was said by Andrea De Gennaro, commanding general of the Guardia di Finanza, at the Trento Economy Festival' organised by Sole 24 Ore with Trentino Marketing at the panel entitled 'Submerged economy, the other face of Italia'. "Rather than submerged economy, we speak of the undeclared, in fact we distinguish between the submerged of those who do not pay the taxes due and are total evaders and those who are total evaders but because their wealth and income come from illegal activities. These are two different aspects of the same phenomenon. The ideal mix at the moment is to combine prevention with repression. Not only controls, but doing prevention can mean, for example, a simplification of obligations' with 'less bureaucracy'. On the repression side, 'controls must be carried out predominantly by being able to identify new forms of illegality. An important recourse is the use of technology, with great sharing with other institutional actors. For years, in fact, there has been a strong sharing of activities with other institutional actors, in particular the tax revenue agencies,' he added.

21 May 2026

At the Trento Festival of Economics between business and social issues

International trade with the tariffs imposed by the United States, the social economy and agriculture. These are some of the topics that will be addressed during the second day of the Trento Festival of Economics organised by the 24 Ore Group and Trentino Marketing on behalf of the Autonomous Province of Trento. Representatives of the government will be in attendance, with ministers Nello Musumeci, Alessandra Locatelli and Francesco Lollobrigida. In the evening, the Minister for the Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti is expected to speak. The focus will be on artificial intelligence and data centres, with analysis on the energy sources front. The topic of young people is always in the foreground. It will be addressed by Gabriele Fava president of Inps and Corrado Passera. The leader of Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi, is also expected in Trento and will talk about the reforms made, those not made and those to be made. And finally, the revolution in infrastructures with Fabrizio Palermo managing director and general manager of Acea.

21 May 2026

Ravasi: 'Find the strength to be open to the words of the young'

Il cardinale Gianfranco Ravasi alla Cerimonia inaugurale del Festival dell’Economia di Trento

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