Orsini: "It is a time for trust and courage. We need a common EU debt and the suspension of the ETS"

Emanuele Orsini, president of Confindustria, asks the government and the social partners to commit to ‘freeing’ 20 billion to be allocated to growth by cutting through the ‘jungle’ of tax expenditure which is eroding 120 billion of the tax base.

Orsini: “Italy is fourth in terms of tax burden in advanced countries”

Italy, he noted Orsini“is fourth in terms of tax pressure among advanced countries, but there are 575 tax measures that erode around 120 billion of the tax base. We launch a proposal to the Government and the social partners. Let’s work together on these measures, some of which have lost their raison d’être or overlap with each other. Let’s analyze them together.
And we identify the 20 billion to be reallocated, without increasing the debt: a third to growth, a third to healthcare, a third to schools”.
“It is a concrete act of responsibility to be carried out with shared decisions of the majority and the opposition. It also means reopening the chapter of a serious review of public spending – warned Orsini – to affect consolidated privileges and balances. Changing this state of affairs requires trust and political courage”.

It’s a time for courage, we need trust and responsibility

“We are what we decide to do. It’s a time for courage.” This is the final message launched by the president of Confindustria Emanuele Orsini, in the report to the annual assembly of industrialists. “We have the privilege of being able to be courageous in peace and not in war as happens to peoples close to us: we use courage to continue to build development, competitiveness and opportunities. – states Orsini – This is the only path capable of generating a future, social cohesion and widespread well-being. We are convinced that Italy, when it manages to express the best of itself, knows how to follow this path with the same responsibility, ambition and determination that animates our businesses. And we believe in trust, courage and responsibility”.

We believe in the EU but change gear, more competitiveness

Europe is increasingly necessary but it must change direction and gear”, Orsini said.
“Europe must change direction and must change pace, and it is up to us, its citizens, to chart the path. No European country has the political and economic resources to face alone the challenges we face: geopolitical, technological, climatic, demographic. The United States and China face them with massive public and private investments, including on a military level, and with protectionist policies. The European dimension is the only one capable of withstanding the impact. We believe in Europe. But we are very worried about the choices of the Union in recent years. Point above all: Brussels is not clear what competitiveness means”. According to Orsini “We are suffocated by the lack of competitiveness and by the fragilities that increase every day”.

Ets suspension is needed for a better review

“We ask for the suspension of the ETS because we know that the European times for an effective review are too long. Suspending it means allowing a better review, but also preventing other factories from being forced to close or relocate in the meantime”. This was stated by the president of Confindustria Emanuele Orsini in the report to the 2026 assembly. “The Ets system”, he continued, “has made decarbonisation a product of financial speculation, benefiting some member states to the detriment of others, with disastrous effects. Today, the cleanest continent has the highest price of CO2 in the world: a cost that inflates citizens’ bills and affects industrial processes, pushing us out of the market. To understand how much all this is self-destructive, just think of the automotive industry, with European manufacturers forced to purchase CO2 emission certificates which enrich their American and Chinese competitors. It’s truly madness!”
“A true single energy market means first of all a Europe that acts as the sole buyer of energy sources, to lower prices. It means a Europe that strengthens and finances the increase in interconnection infrastructure networks, so that countries with more electricity production from renewables, such as Spain, can share it. It means starting a radical review of climate policies, starting from the suspension of the ETS and its profound revision”.

Joint effort in the EU or we will lose industry and 15% of GDP

“The challenges we have to face require all of us to have a common, strong and shared sense of responsibility. A responsibility that concerns institutions and political forces, business associations and trade unions: the entire society. Because if in Italy and Europe we are not capable of a common effort, we will lose our industry, i.e. 15 percent of the GDP and millions of jobs”, stated iOrsini, in the report to the annual assembly of industrialists. “For too long we have been content to do the bare minimum instead of the bare minimum,” he adds.