Zangrillo: soon in the Cdm decree with a hundred simplifications. UniCredit, Freni: Golden power that is and that remains

A Euro-Mediterranean bank could be the right complement to the Meloni government's Mattei plan for Africa. Marco Elio Rottigni premised that he was speaking in a personal capacity and not as the Director General of Abi, although he hoped that the ad hoc strategic committee at Palazzo Altieri would soon address this issue. Rottigni spoke at a panel at the Festival of Economics dedicated precisely to the Mattei plan and the results achieved. The banker's assessment of the plan is positive: "the government is working well," he said, recalling his experience (in the Intesa Sanpaolo group, ed.) with the group's foreign banks, which are also present "in Africa", as Rottigni defines the continent to emphasise the different characteristics of the sub-Saharan region compared to North Africa and the rest of the continent.

"Africa is a great opportunity for the entire planet," emphasises the Director General of Palazzo Altieri, "and banks can play a fundamental role in supporting small industry, for example in the agricultural sector, but also in financial education with a focus on the issue of economic violence against women. The Mattei Plan, which in its current formulation has a duration of four years and total investments of 5.5 billion, focuses on 12 areas of intervention. For the first phase, the government has identified a number of pilot countries for concrete and prompt action. The idea of the Euro-Mediterranean bank stems from a question posed by Gregorio De Felice, chief economist of Intesa Sanpaolo, who was present at the debate and emphasised the importance of creating a vehicle with a dowry of public-private capital. According to Rottigni, thinking about a Euro-Mediterranean bank 'should be a duty'.

"We were used to the world being one big supermarket. Today this is no longer the case. We risk moving towards the neighbourhood grocery store, as today's statements show, where we only find goods from certain countries. How we position ourselves is the key element'. This was said, speaking about Trump's declaration on duties, chief economist and director of sectoral strategies and impact of Cdp Andrea Montanino at the Festival of Economics in Trento, as part of the panel "Which Italy in Europe: industry, work, territory". Montanino pointed out four transitions of our time: the demographic one, the green one, the one towards the use of Ai and the economic one. Before asking what Europe's position will be in today's world, according to Cdp's chief economist, one must ask 'what is the world? I think a lot will depend on how the four transitions we are experiencing will end,' Montanino explained.

"Merit in public administration is no longer an abstract principle, but a concrete goal: with the bill coming to Parliament, it will be possible to make a career based on results. A path that guarantees impartiality, publicity and transparency'. This was stated by the Minister for the Public Administration Paolo Zangrillo, speaking at the Trento Festival of Economics. The protagonists of this transformation are the managers, who are called upon to lead the change with vision and responsibility. "Their task is not only technical, but above all leadership, the management of human resources: it is the ability to be able to motivate, enhance teamwork, and govern change," Zangrillo added. The issue of training is also central: 'Through the Civil Service Department's initiatives, we want to initiate a real cultural change. Training means investing in the future of the public administration'. Lastly, the minister addressed the issue of pay disparities between central and local administrations: 'With the rule on additional pay, provided for in the PA Decree, we are providing local authorities with concrete tools for enhancing the value of their staff, avoiding the flight to more attractive realities. Only in this way will we build a modern, innovative public administration that is up to the challenges of our time'.

After his speech at the Trento Festival of Economics, former Economics Minister Giulio Tremonti greeted the editorial staff of Il Sole 24 Ore and introduced himself by showing one of his books with the title 'Rischi fatali' ('Fatal Risks and Choices'), almost the same one that was chosen for the 20th edition of the Trento Festival of Economics. "I wrote it twenty years ago and it also has the same colour," says Tremonti. "Will you ask for the rights now?" he is asked. "No, no, thank you for your hospitality," Tremnti demurs before leaving.

The reform of the Testo Unico della Finanza (Tuf) that will see the light within a few months will contain 'a structural reform also of the way in which assemblies are conducted'. Thus the undersecretary to the Mef Federico Freni, who is personally following the work of the commission at work in Via XX Settembre on the Tuf, when asked about Brussels' sending of a letter of formal notice to the Capital Law for the contrast with the directive that protects the rights of shareholders (the Shareholders Rights). The opening of the infringement procedure, according to Freni, questioned on the sidelines of a round table at the Festival of Economics, 'is an almost surreal game'. "The rule (on closed meetings with the appointed representative, ed.) is an extension of a Covid rule and we have informed the European Commission that in the reform of the Tuf, which will be called the Financial Markets Code, there will also be a structural reform of the way in which meetings are held". Freni adds that until that time 'we are talking about three, four months, it did not seem appropriate to dictate a particular discipline for a session of shareholders' meetings, which, moreover, would have been particularly delicate given the elective meetings of many large banks'. The European directive on shareholders' rights 'will be implemented with the reform of the Tuf and the closed meeting will remain an option available to the board of directors and the shareholders' meeting, with an opt-in opt-out formula'.

"We have been negotiating for a year for the renewal of local authorities and health. CGIL and UIL continue to consider the resources insufficient: I consider this position unjustifiable from a negotiating point of view. I am fighting to bring home a result, and as a last resort I see unilateral giving. If there is no signature within a month or a month and a half, I will have to go and represent the situation in the Council of Ministers and propose the unilateral donation'. So said Paolo Zangrillo, Minister of Public Administration, speaking at the Trento Festival of Economics.

We need to make the functioning of the state machine simpler and to simplify relations with citizens and businesses'. This was said by the Minister for Public Administration, Paolo Zangrillo, on the sidelines of a meeting during the Trento Festival of Economics organised by the 24 Ore Group and Trentino Marketing on behalf of the Autonomous Province of Trento. 'In past years,' he added, 'the complexity of procedural regulations has become much more complicated, so we must make an effort to simplify. We are doing this with a new method, which is to share the simplification process with our users. This has enabled us between 2023 and 2024 to bring more than 200 simplifications to the Council of Ministers and we are now working on a second phase. And I believe that in the coming weeks we will be ready with a new decree to take to the Council of Ministers with a hundred simplifications. This brings us closer to a target of June 2026 of 600 completed simplifications.

For the renewal of local authority contracts, a synthesis must be found within a month, a month and a half, otherwise 'we risk that we will only see the money in 2026'. This was said by Paolo Zangrillo, Minister for Public Administration, at the conference 'The State machine at the test of innovation and merit' being held at the Trento Festival of Economics.

"I'm fighting to try to bring home a result by sharing it with the union, I don't see unilateral giving as a virtuous solution, but as the last resort. However, I also have to come to terms with reality," he said. he added, emphasising that, pragmatically, one must consider that 'when a contract is signed, it is not immediately operational. If we are not able to arrive at a synthesis in a month, a month and a half, we risk that we will only see the money in 2026'.

Before talking about the productivity contracts proposed by Confindustria, 'they have to renew the national contracts. Confindustria must have the national contracts renewed. There is the metalworkers' one that is blocked with 32 hours of strike. There is the multiservice one that has again been postponed and is blocked. There is that of private health care. There is the telecommunications one that has not been renewed for two years'. Thus the general secretary of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini, on the sidelines of the Trento Economy Festival, organised by the 24 Ore Group. "So the Confindustria meanwhile renews the national labour contracts and favours the fact that wages increase to really protect purchasing power. Then on the rest it's a year that (president Emanuele Orsini) promised us that meetings would start, we are still waiting,' Landini continued. 'We wanted to discuss health and safety, we wanted to discuss how to apply the agreement on representation, how to reduce even the opposition, how to fight precariousness and what industrial policies are being made. We are still waiting for that thing there to happen, so enough talk,' added the CGIL leader.

The government must take responsibility for continuing the activities and investments to safeguard the former Ilva, also confirming the commitments on employment. This was said by the general secretary of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini, on the sidelines of the Trento Festival of Economics, organised by the 24 Ore Group together with Trentino Marketing on behalf of the Autonomous Province of Trento and with the contribution of the Municipality and the University of Trento. "We are at risk of the failure of those experiences, projects and plans that were there. So today the basic problem is that all the investments that are necessary to ensure continuity of production and to guarantee environmental and productive rehabilitation are made,' Landini said. "This is the bottom line and, given that to date there are still no concrete offers, this is something that the government must do, it cannot be that this falls on the workers with the cassa or with the de facto decision to essentially divest activities," he continued.

In the event of a sale to private individuals, we will see, Landini continued, 'now this role must be played by the government and the state, otherwise the alternative to this is to accompany a process that blows everything up,' stressing that 'today this is not the way forward. This is the way to blow everything up. This is the truth. If you don't want to blow everything up, the money for maintenance, for investment' must come from the commissioner's procedure and 'the State, because other things are not there.

"Sport also has a positive impact on the economy, also in social terms. There is no economy without values, without credibility. Sometimes it is thought that these aspects can be disjointed, but this is not the case. The value chain passes through the value chain'. This was said by Andrea Abodi, Minister for Sport and Youths, during one of the panels at the Trento Festival of Economics. 'Until some time ago the model, the yardstick, was the medal table, we are definitely winners, it means that there is talent and will. But we have not been satisfied with this, since this government has been in place we have been trying to broaden the horizon and make people understand how important the educational and social value of sporting activity is,' said the minister, explaining that 'we are trying to ensure that a vision is accompanied by a strategy, hence measures and resources'.

Major events, such as the America's Cup in Naples in 2027 or the Internazionali di Tennis in Rome, 'are important, they are not wasted money, there is an element of reward, also for the territories. They are investments worth making and, even when resources are limited, you have to make assessments and understand where to allocate them. These are social investments, it would be a mistake to put them in competition with other investments,' Abodi said, explaining that 'we try to invest in prototypes, with projects that can then be replicated elsewhere, as happened with Caivano'.

Nuclear power 'everyone here considers it a very strange thing, but it is only strange for Italians, for others it is not strange'. Enel "is the main shareholder in the nuclear power of the future, we believe in it", said Enel chairman Paolo Scaroni, in an in-depth discussion on energy issues at the Festival dell'Economia organised in Trento by Gruppo 24 Ore and Trentino Marketing. And he emphasised: "a consensus must be built, it must be an agreement by all, there cannot be a party that pushes and one that goes against, otherwise there is only talk".

"These are not goals of the left and right, they must be goals of all of us. And this we must build. Will nuclear power be built in Italy? "I am optimistic. There are 450 nuclear power plants in the world and 56 are being built', if nuclear power is being targeted abroad, 'we are not talking about a very strange thing. But in Italy we need consensus, we have to build it, if we do not create consensus I become pessimistic', we need 'social acceptance' It is a theme that Paolo Scaroni also links to the objectives of the green deal: nuclear power is needed 'for those objectives' as well as for the 'energy independence' objectives. A "rethinking of the objectives" of the green deal "would be very difficult for the European Union, I think we are approaching this rethinking but we are not there yet", says Scaroni.

"For two and a half years we have been talking with government allies about the third term. But we've had the idea in our heads for a while, the one in Trentino for me is absolutely legitimate. So why didn't they challenge Valle d'Aosta or Bolzano's law on the third term in the past. Or that of Sicily? Why has no one challenged these things? Because they are special autonomies. So either one studies the Constitution or one remains ignorant all one's life'. Thus the Minister for Regional Affairs and Autonomies, Roberto Calderoli, at the Trento Festival of Economics.

Fugatti: 'Let's discuss third term now'

The government confirms its opposition to a statutory minimum wage, arguing that 'wages and productivity go hand in hand. If productivity does not increase, wages will not increase, which is why I think that a minimum wage set by law is not the solution'. This was said by the Minister of Labour, Marina Calderone, speaking at the Trento Festival of Economics, organised by the 24 Ore Group.

"If an industry does not return value, there is a risk of distortion or abuse of contract conditions. If a company cannot hold the minimum wage by law, we would see an increase in involuntary part time. We must focus on increasing productivity, on welfare, on proximity bargaining,' Calderone added, emphasising that 'where there is good second-level bargaining, pay allows for greater purchasing power'. In particular, Calderone recalled, "we have lowered the taxation of performance bonuses to 5 per cent, we must work hard on this aspect and expand the basket of contractual items that can take advantage of reduced taxation. And at the same time we must look at how to link productivity to supplementary welfare.

"There is a theme of Europe and there is a theme of the United States, which was the emblem of democracy. Today I really don't recognise the United States any more. The duties are an almost masochistic intervention because they will have a very negative rebound on the United States, I have the feeling that Trump is succeeding in displeasing both the poor and the rich, but then we have to see how far the bluff goes and where the truth begins'. This is what Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, chairman of Italo and of theTelethon Foundation, said when interviewed at the Trento Festival of Economics on the topic 'Geopolitics and mass distractions'. 'On the other hand, however, there is a Europe that is struggling to have a strong, authoritative, common position,' he emphasised, 'even though I realise that at this time it is not easy, because for better or worse our historical interlocutor has always been the United States: we did not elect Trump but we have the United States that freely elected Trump'. Europe, Montezemolo added, 'must have a position as far as possible that takes into account the interests of European companies that are really risking a lot at the moment. But I believe that we will see more of these things, how far the bluff will go and where the real things will be'.

"Trump's choice to close Harvard to foreigners and cut resources to the beating heart that generated those extraordinary horses that allowed the United States to grow by 4% per year is a disaster". These were the words of Giuliano Noci, pro-rector of the Milan Polytechnic, during the Festival of Economics in Trento, organised by Gruppo 24 Ore and Trentino Marketing on behalf of the Autonomous Province of Trento. 'The closure of American universities to the rest of the world,' Noci continued, 'but even more so the perceived sense of not being accepted, means that the enormous charge of ideas and innovation that has developed thanks to foreign students and doctoral students is lost.

At the presentation of his essay, 'Disorder. The New Coordinates of the World', the pro-rector of the Polytechnic also spoke about the heavy cuts in research. "Trump reduced by 56% the budget of the National Science Foundation, without which we would not be talking about Artificial Intelligence today, and reduced by 26% the budget of Nasa, which was the scientific father that allowed many start-ups to develop new technologies. Trump is disrupting the American innovation system,' concluded Noci, 'not realising that in today's society, the education system is more central and fundamental than ever.

"The Italian banking sector has been profoundly reformed" and in Europe "the banking industry that has the most value in terms of stock market capitalisation is the Italian one". This was noted by Intesa Sanpaolo's chairman, Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, during the round table 'Big tech after the rise of Musk' as part of the Trento Festival of Economics. The capitalisation of Italian banks "as of 14 May was 275 billion, which is behind that of the United Kingdom, which, however, is not Europe and has a different currency, but is ahead of France's 260 and Spain's 184". "Germany is at 82 billion," Gros-Pietro noted again. "How has this been achieved? - concluded Gros-Pietro - By making these banks competitive, they have to compete with each other, they have to produce results."

"Europe cannot move forward only with mediations. You can't cheer people up with an idea of Europe if we argue about zero point or particular aspects of the economy. Either we put major European decisions on the table or we no longer count for anything'. Romano Prodi said this at the Festival of Economics. "We do not realise the role that Europe has lost in these 20 years. We need further steps on the economy and the global market, proposals for what was once called the third world, to play an active role in these recent events. There must be proposals that people understand, popular and important. We need haste if we don't go backwards,' said the former prime minister and EU Commission president.

'I am convinced that defence is needed, but it must be defence not defence spending. We spend much more than the Russian budget and have a minimal defence capability,' said Prodi again. 'In six or seven years' time, the German army will be the most efficient and largest European army, but only France has the nuclear weapon, with the right of veto in the Security Council. Can we think of a European army in which one pays and the other commands? It is not possible. Either all decisions are pooled or there will never be a European defence. We are still a long way off'.

The decision to publish guidelines 'opening ourselves to consultation shows that we take into account the sensitivities of stakeholders. There are more than 90 contributions that we are evaluating, all of great quality, and what is emerging is a positive and not fearful focus on the issue because we need to accompany an issue that will determine future choices. There is a lot of expectation and awareness that we cannot do without talking about technology and Ia'. Thus the Minister of Labour and Social Policies, Marina Calderone, at the Trento Festival of Economics organised by the 24 Ore Group and Trentino Marketing, on the decision to publish guidelines on Ia and put them out for consultation.

Europe 'as it is' cannot compete with the United States and China and 'must make progress', particularly on the front of new technologies and artificial intelligence. This was said by Intesa Sanpaolo chairman Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, speaking at the Festival of Economics in Trento. 'Banks will be big users of AI, they are already among the first to use it,' he remarked. 'We need enormous computing power for cloud-based structures and the world's cloud providers are few, the top 3 have two-thirds of the market and they are not European. Nobody is European'. 'This,' is Gros-Pietro's warning, 'means being dependent on an external force offering something that is indispensable for us. We must make ourselves capable of developing in that direction'.

"We cannot lose steel production in Italy," stressed steel industrialist Emma Marcegaglia, past president of Confindustria, from the Trento Festival of Economics organised by Gruppo 24 Ore and Trentino Marketing. "If we still want steel production in Italy, which is fundamental in a country like Italy" for Ilva, we need "a normal AIA", "serious" environmental prescriptions that are "like in other European countries: we need a serious AIA, we cannot make an AIA that if there is wind we have to stop the blast furnace".

Today, with the challenges to be faced by the economy, starting from the war on duties to energy and industrial policies, "Europe and Italy must do four things, which must be done together, with determination and in a short timeframe," Minister Adolfo Urso spoiled from the Festival of Economics organised in Trento by Gruppo 24 Ore and Trentino Marketing. The first is "to conclude the negotiations with the United States" on duties "as Great Britain has done, and certainly not by triggering a spiral of retaliation". "The second thing," the minister continued, "is to prepare measures to safeguard the European continent," because if the United States' negotiations on duties "went well with us and badly for others," such as China, "a tidal wave" would be created, "goods from Asia would pour towards Europe and the consequences for Europe would be devastating. "Third measure, necessary in any case: to make free trade agreements with other players, to favour our companies in the growing markets. Fourth and fundamental,' Urso stressed, 'is to implement a European energy and industrial policy, recognising that the green deal is dead along with globalisation. Europe must catch up with the United States and China on strategic sectors, it must do so within this year, because there is no time to lose if we do not want to succumb'.

"We will certainly move towards a new revision of the Pnrr because as I said yesterday in the Senate and the day before in the House, the one presented was a technical revision that concerned the seventh and eighth instalments, but there are ten instalments and therefore we want to recalibrate the objectives for the ninth and tenth instalments". This was said by the Minister for European Affairs, Pnrr and Cohesion Policies, Tommaso Foti, during the Trento Festival of Economics organised by the 24 Ore Group and Trentino Marketing on behalf of the Autonomous Province of Trento. "Contrary," he added, "to those who play against Italy, we are rooting for Italy and therefore want to put Italy in the best conditions to achieve all the objectives".

"Today we honour Judge Falcone, his wife and the men of the escort who were victims of the Capaci massacre. The mafia phenomenon has changed its skin, but it is still entrenched". This was said by Elly Schlein, secretary of the Democratic Party, speaking on the second day of the Trento Festival of Economics, organised by the 24 Ore Group and Trentino Marketing.

"In reality we understand that war is a defeat for everyone. The constituent fathers knew this very well and as Don Mazzolani used to say, 'even those who win the war are defeated'. Article 11 of the Constitution is beautiful and we have forgotten it. I was born 10 years after the end of the Second World War and we all took peace for granted. We have a huge responsibility, Europe must find the ability to resolve conflicts'.

This was said by Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi speaking at "Peace, a universal value", a panel on the second day of the Trento Festival of Economics, organised by the 24 Ore Group and Trentino Marketing on behalf of the Province in cooperation with the Municipality and the University, referring to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Legitimising cryptocurrencies, as President Trump did in the United States in March, 'is a fatal risk'. Paolo Savona, president of Consob, does not mince words during an event at the Trento Festival of Economics interviewed by economist Marina Brogi. Savona calls 'a serious matter of conscience' the implementation of the Micar in which he is directly involved.

"I don't want to put my seal on the legitimacy of crypto," he observes, using the metaphor of the counterfeiter who prints money and should be sued for it. Crypto miners are 'disrupting the banking system'. Savona adds that as a citizen he must respect the laws, but his job is also to inform and if 'the market wants private money, democracy must decide whether it wants it, but it must be aware of the basic risks involved in replacing public money'. I am 'a mathematician of public office' he says addressing the young people in the room but for you, for your future, 'you have to ask yourself what finance you want and how you can guarantee your parents' and your own savings'.

Al via la seconda giornata del Festival dell’Economia di Trento con un programma che vede la presenza di premi Nobel, manager e rappresentanti del governo. La manifestazione, organizzata dal Gruppo 24 Ore e Trentino Marketing per conto della Provincia Autonoma di Trento, con la collaborazione del Comune e dell’Università, quest’anno festeggia i suoi venti anni.

Il filo conduttore del Festival sono il ruolo, le scelte e i rischi per l’Europa. I lavori sono iniziati con un incontro con il presidente della Consob Paolo Savona che affronta l’argomento della legittimazione delle criptovalute e rischi per i mercati mobiliari. Durante l’incontro Savona si è anche detto pronto ad andarsene «se non sono gradito».