Meloni presses Europe and proposes 'common yard for radical reform of bureaucracy in Italia'

Without renouncing special thanks to the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, 'because his presence reminds the entire nation how important the role of industry is on the historical, identity, economic and also reputational front', Meloni emphasised how instability and uncertainty are becoming the rule in the age of polycrisis and end up laying bare the fragilities of the global order.

In this context, according to Meloni, 'the idea of a Europe that thought it could limit its role to that of a trading platform, leaving control over the hubs of value chains to others, appeared short-sighted.

We discovered how suicidal it was to let our fate depend on the choices of others.

Hence the plea: 'We ask Europe to do less and better. We demand the application of the principle of subsidiarity. We demand sensible priorities and speedy decisions. We need a change of pace on competitiveness: simplification and bureaucratisation must be our mantra'.

But the lunge against the European Union leaves the field to a concrete proposal: the opening of a common yard for a 'radical reform of bureaucracy in Italia'.

The PM extends her hands on the inclusion of the cloud among subsidised investments and then moves on to the hot topic of energy.

It claims the measures already launched by the government, the bills decree, the commitment to make Italia a 'European energy hub', the mechanism introducing the decoupling of electricity and gas prices. He reiterates that by the summer the enabling act for the resumption of nuclear power will be approved.

But here too theattack on Europe returns. We must overcome,' thunders Meloni, 'the unreasonable approach to ecological transition that characterised the Green Deal season in order to consign ourselves to new dependencies'.

Signs of a change of pace are still 'timid'. The example cited is the Ets: 'Paradoxical that it ends up artificially inflating energy costs asymmetrically and creating further inequalities'.

A system 'far removed from the current needs of European industry', all the more so in a time of energy emergency.

"The Iranian crisis," Meloni reiterates, "is having disruptive effects on the costs for households and businesses, exacerbating our vulnerabilities. These are circumstances beyond the control of the EU member states, which amply justify extending the flexibility already granted for security and defence spending to the investments needed to mitigate the impact the energy crisis is having on households and businesses".

In the last part of her speech, the prime minister opened up to dialogue on the reorganisation of incentives and of tax expenditures, on the reform of the law 231 ("because corporate responsibility cannot turn into criminalisation of business"), on the need to stimulate private capital by strengthening the tools to increase investments of pension funds in the real economy 

('Something doesn't work if out of 260 billion only 40 billion ends up in the Italian real economy'), on boosting human capital and artificial intelligence training.

Inevitable here are the housing plan and the fair wage, the government's latest decrees that are also the result of discussions with businesses.

'Together,' says Meloni, 'we have mapped out a new path of collaboration and confrontation.

The conclusion is an invitation to an act of optimism: crises follow one another and too many certainties are crumbling, Meloni acknowledges, but 'the strength of this nation is a certainty that no one can question: the all-Italian ability to always know how to get back up. You have taught me that'.

The recommendation is not to be afraid, the promise is clear: 'The government is there and does not intend to back down a single millimetre'.