HGV protest: road haulage talks to be held on Tuesday. Salvini ready to release the funds

A round-table discussion on road haulage will take place on Tuesday 20 October at the Prefecture in Milan. The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, has brought forward the schedule for the meeting, which will take place first in the morning with the national trade unions and then in the afternoon with the local ones. Confirmation came from Salvini in an interview with Rds: ‘I have been in contact for days now with both the national associations – the main trade unions I will be meeting at the Prefecture in Milan on Tuesday morning – and with the more spontaneous groups; I have spoken personally to some in Puglia, Sicily, Calabria and Campania, whom I will also be meeting in Milan on Tuesday afternoon. I have asked everyone to show common sense and respect for the work of others, because some blockades are undermining the work of many of their colleagues.” This is an attempt to find solutions following the protests by lorry drivers who are blocking freight transport, particularly in the southern parts of the country. These protests stem from high fuel prices, which have put the entire sector under strain. According to the Ministry, the idea under consideration is to release funds already earmarked, secure new funding and explore avenues with the European Union to support the road haulage sector.

Over the last few hours, there have been intense and ongoing discussions with other relevant ministers to speed up the release of the 590 million euros already allocated in the budget for the renewal of companies’ vehicle fleets. Due to bureaucratic hurdles, the funds have not yet reached the sector, as Minister Salvini’s team has made clear.

Furthermore, the work currently underway aims to identify additional resources for the road haulage fund and the Marebonus 2026 scheme. The aim is to support businesses grappling with rising costs caused by the ongoing wars and European emissions trading scheme (ETS) charges, according to ministry sources.

Another area where work is continuing – again according to ministry sources – is that of making ‘immediately available’ the financial resources already allocated to tackle high diesel prices and to secure further funds to ensure that the measures are fully funded throughout 2026, as well as to secure an extension of the tax credit to 2027 and to explore further measures to reduce the impact of price rises on businesses in the sector.