Orsini: 'Let's look together for a solution to keep companies competitive'

'Let us look together for a solution to maintain the competitiveness of companies'. Thus the president of Confindustria, Emanuele Orsini on the bill law decree. He added to Il Sole 24 Ore: 'Energy is fundamental for industry. We are aware that public finances do not leave much room for manoeuvre, but it is necessary to find a way not to cut anyone off at such a difficult time."

Yesterday afternoon Confindustria expressed 'strong concern and disapproval for the absence of concrete measures to support the productive heart of the country', returning to press the issue of high energy prices: 'It is an unsustainable situation for Italian companies, we must act urgently. Another opportunity to intervene effectively has been missed,' explains the communiqué, which states that it is 'indispensable to open a path leading to the definition of a structural and long-term energy plan as soon as possible. One-off measures are no longer enough: we need concrete and consistent actions, where the vision of the future is clear'.

It is necessary, the communiqué continues, to open a table with the government to discuss 'measures for industry' and 'a new decree law to structurally reduce energy costs', a decree that 'provides for immediate and targeted interventions to support companies and industrial districts currently excluded from the approved measures'. It is the numbers that make the seriousness of the situation clear: the energy bill of Italian industry as a whole exceeds 20 billion euros a year, says the text of the communiqué, and Italian companies continue to suffer an energy cost burden that exceeds 35% and reaches peaks of 80% in comparison with European countries.

Moreover, underlines Confindustria, one must be aware that Italy's industrial consumption accounts for 42% of the national energy demand (125 Twh) and that for companies the energy price is calculated on the basis of the cost of electricity produced with gas, which is the most expensive. Renewable energy production, which accounts for 45% of the energy produced with 115 Twh, does not contribute to a more competitive price for industry.

"It is regrettable," the text continues, "that during the entire legislative process there was a lack of awareness of this urgency and nothing was done to strengthen the decree and introduce structural measures to support the Italian industry, while respecting the balance, which we shared, of distributing resources fairly between households and businesses. For companies facing a prolonged crisis in industrial production and the uncertainty of a trade war, now was the time to receive real support. Instead, they preferred to act with extemporary interventions'.