Italy’s economy is growing “beyond expectation”, making it the most reliable country in the Eurozone, Premier Giorgia Meloni said on today.
“Italy has demonstrated a post-Covid recovery that has delivered us an economy that is growing beyond expectations, with a forecast that has been revised upwards to 1.2% in 2023,” the premier told the Assolombarda assembly in Milan.
The growth of Italy’s economy, said Meloni, “is higher than the EU average; higher than the main continental economies, 0.7% for France, 0.2% when things go well for Germany. We are demonstrating greater reliability than the rest of the eurozone”.
Carlo Bonomi, president of Italian industry association Confindustria, said Monday he welcomed Meloni’s comments about the need for a new approach to supporting business in Italy.
“I very much liked the premier’s words, (they made for) a different narration of industry,” Bonomi said.
“The importance of supporting industry is understood”.
He added that, while the government’s budget law featured measures to help businesses with high energy prices, “we would have liked other resources to go into other things that we considered important”.
The government is currently considering changes to the proposed NRRP, which would assist businesses with post-Covid recovery.
Confindustria wouldn’t veto minimum wage
However, it is the opposition parties, not the government, which are proposing a minimum wage. And Bonomi stated Confindustria would not be against the introduction of a nine-euros-an-hour minimum wage.
He added the move would not affect Confindustria as its collective contracts are all above the nine-euro mark.
“If we want to talk about a minimum wage with a nine-euro threshold, it’s not a problem for Confindustria,” he told the assembly of the Assolombarda section.
“All our contracts are above that. If we take the metalworkers’ contract, for example, the price is €11.
“It is not true that industry doesn’t pay well. It pays what is right.
“There is no veto. On the contrary”.
