Orsini: stop speculation, the EU will consider whether to go beyond the Pact. The bill decree now

A further concern, in a scenario where several unknowns were already weighing heavily, from tariffs to energy prices. "Every war is a defeat for mankind," began the president of Confindustria, Emanuele Orsini, interviewed yesterday on La 7 on the programme 'L'aria che tira'. "From an economic point of view, we had already sounded the competitiveness alarm. The umpteenth ongoing war worries us for several reasons: the first is that the Gulf countries are a very important market, 32 billion in interchange, with 11 billion in positive balance, and that has always generated double-digit increases. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz means increasing the voyage of ships by 15 days and will have a long tail,' said Orsini, replying to the host, Davide Parenzo.

There is also the alert on energy costs: 'We hope that the bill decree will come quickly. Even before it did not bring us to competitive levels like France and Spain within Europe. The cost will impact even more: on Friday we had the price of energy at 107 euro Mwh, today we are at 151, it is a problem for both companies and families'.

It is necessary, emphasised the president of Confindustria, 'to stop financial speculation on energy, one week after the conflict the prices we see are unacceptable. Speculation is drugging the markets, putting Italian and European companies in difficulty'. There is not only the Ets issue, 'which the bill decree has begun to address'. Europe 'must wake up. We have been saying this since 2024. It must act now. I am pleased that there is a reflection in the EU on the change of the Ets. But if we want a united Europe we have to build three fundamental things: a single energy market, a functioning capital market and a single defence. And we need technological neutrality'.

But that's not all: 'at a time like this, overstepping the Stability Pact will be another argument to be made. Germany has allocated 26 billion for energy costs, France has capped the price at 70 euro Mwh. We unfortunately have no financial capacity. But we must safeguard the companies, and with them the workers, because that means the country's social stability. Out of 4 million companies in Italia, the 250,000 above 10 employees maintain 83% of Italy's welfare. It is a fact of national security, we need a path that I do not see. And one cannot avoid using the word European responsibility'.

Add to this the uncertainty over tariffs: 'we still have uncertainties towards the US, which is our first non-European market. It is a big problem. We are waiting for the US executive order document, it must confirm what tariffs there will be. We are seeing a drop in orders to the US for this reason,' Orsini stressed. He added that new markets must be opened up. "Mercosur is very good. It must become operational as soon as possible: it can be worth 14 billion. It took too long to ground it. With the right reciprocity, India. And we must continue to develop Japan and Canada, markets that work for us'. Today, exports are worth EUR 626 billion, with a positive balance of EUR 100 billion: 'if they are lost, the country's resilience is lost. It is crucial that we think of the new markets as a way out, we must run'.