Meloni: ‘Italia does not sit at the European table just to say “yes” all the time. The EU must change its approach to the ETS’

“Italia is not in Europe simply to say ‘yes’ all the time. Italia is one of the founding members of Europe and has both the right and the duty to speak out when things are not right.” So said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking at the Assolombarda assembly in Milan. To keep energy costs down, “a change of approach is needed in Europe too. The ETS system inflates prices, creates imbalances between Member States and harms our businesses, which face competitors not subject to the same constraints,” the Prime Minister insisted. “If a steelworks closes in Lombardy, and we buy that steel from the other side of the world where environmental standards are lower, the planet does not gain but loses. We lose jobs and supply chains, and we do not reduce global emissions.” But above all, she emphasised, “strategic autonomy is built on steelworks, foundries and chemical plants. We are working within Europe; it will not be an easy negotiation, but we will, as always, play our part.”

“Europe must recognise that the crisis in Iran, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the instability in the Red Sea are driving up the costs of energy, raw materials and transport and, above all, are fuelling inflation that is beyond our control, but which is placing a heavy burden on households, production systems and public finances” said Meloni, reiterating the Italian government’s proposal for greater flexibility from Europe to tackle inflation.

“Europe,” he insisted, “cannot fail to take this into account: when we approved the national budget plans, we did so on the basis of a projected inflation rate of 1.8 per cent, but today inflation is much higher and in Italia, as in other countries, a significant proportion of expenditure is automatically adjusted for inflation by law”. This “means billions of euros in additional expenditure without the government having taken any new decisions, and for reasons beyond our control: yet that expenditure takes up the headroom allowed by European rules and takes it away from everything else – from businesses, from investment, from growth”. “Minister Giorgetti discussed this at the Ecofin meeting a few days ago; I will personally raise the issue again at the European Council meeting scheduled for this Thursday and Friday: it is a simple, common-sense proposal, as well as a responsible one.”

“Growth for 2026 could reach +1 per cent, in line with the major European economies and above forecasts. These results should give us cause for encouragement” because they are a “sign that should not be downplayed”. So said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking from the stage at the Assolombarda assembly. “Growth in Italy is still too weak, but our economy has weathered the shockwave of complex scenarios.”

“I would like to thank you on behalf of the nation for your contribution,” he added, addressing the business leaders. “ “If Italia is strong, influential and admired around the world, the credit goes above all to businesses and their workers – to those who refuse to settle for less, because in a world that is moving ever faster, there is a risk that there will be no room for those who hold back or waver.”