Brussels – Guido Guidesi, Lombardy’s Councillor for Economic Development, will take the manufacturing system of Italy’s first region to Brussels by the end of March to call for a “change of course: less ideology, more incentives, more listening to the territories and focusing on those who produce.” If the ECB “cut rates,” investment for an economically sustainable transition could accelerate.
Guidesi was the guest speaker at the fourth #GeaTalk, where he addressed all the critical issues affecting the Lombard, Italian and European business fabric, also by virtue of his continental positions. The Lombardy councillor is, in fact, vice-president of the Automotive Regions Alliance, which brings together 35 regions of Europe engaged in the automotive industry and from January 1, 2025, he will become its president; in addition, from the beginning of 2024, he has taken over the presidency of the European Chemical Regions Network active in the chemical sector. “The green and digital transition has a very important impact from an economic point of view, but Lombardy is a region far ahead from this point of view,” Guidesi said. “We are that region,” he added, “that was recycling plastics even before it was indicated as a target, so we enjoy an ability to be ahead of the times that continues to allow us to win international competition and rank first.
Certainly, “there are situations with elderly entrepreneurs who say, ‘We are willing to go ahead with our business, but if we have to make investments that cannot be amortized in the future, it is obvious that we prefer to close down. Some sectors,” he stressed, “will have a future if they are supported now in investments because the goals will be achieved only through investments. The alternative is deindustrialization and desertification of economic opportunities. That is why we are working so much at the European level so that there is the necessary realism and attention to ensure that businesses have the support and attention
they need to succeed.”
https:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8zqNdIBJdA
For example, “On automotive we need a change of course from the European Commission, which has made a glaring mistake by making an economic assist to the Chinese, risking destroying a sector in which Europe was a leader. It is a fundamental sector for competitiveness, economic growth and progress. We are convinced,” Guidesi pointed out, “that environmental goals must be achieved and can be achieved by protecting our companies. We have 30 per cent of companies that cannot convert and risk closure; we cannot allow that.” On the other hand, if we talk about chemistry, “the green one, it should be stressed,” the Lombardy councillor pointed out, “that the sector has made incredible strides from the point of view of sustainability. Today, chemistry will make a decisive contribution to the transition from the ecological point of view. Without chemistry, we cannot achieve those sustainability goals… it makes up 95 per cent of the products we see. It is a key sector in every respect, and we are a key player in this sector; we want to be a key player in the medium- and long-term strategic point of view as well.”
“There are some sectors that need significant investment” in the green transition, “we need public support, and the European Commission has to do it because it cannot set targets and then not allow investment to achieve them given the cost of money, with monetary policy becoming one of the many paradoxes of the European Union at this point,” Guidesi continued. “The ECB must cut rates to accelerate investment,” and “if Europe wants to be competitive, it must focus on those who produce; the future depends on manufacturing, and for this, we stand as a candidate to be interlocutor with the EU, as the first manufacturing region of Italy. For this, by March, we will convene the competitiveness table held for the first time in Brussels to certify our prominence and the demand to be heard,” concluded the Lombard economic development councillor.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
