(Finance) – The first meeting of the Ministerial Consultation Forum Between Italy And France expected by Treaty of the Quirinalco-chaired by the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo bearand by the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty of France, Bruno Le Maire.
At the end of the meeting, the declaration joint of ministers “A shared vision for one industrial strategy of the EU towards the green and digital transition” which, on the basis of the Treaty itself, and consolidating its ambitions, reaffirms the will to deepen the bilateral cooperation of the two countries in favor of an updated industrial strategic vision of the Union, which short- and medium-term and long-term expectations. The declaration, structured in 17 pointsrepresents the common vision of Italy and France for an increasingly competitive and attractive Europe for investors, given the potential of the green and digital transition.
The two countries declare that they welcome the conclusions of the Extraordinary European Council of 9-10 February last, on the greater flexibility in the use of funds Europeans and in the perspective that a sovereign fund to support production capacity in strategic sectors. To this end, Italy and France have underlined their determination to contribute to the work of the Union with a joint proposal to be presented to the Commission, in order to outline an ambitious agenda.
The document is based on the conclusions of the working groups between the two administrations, set up pursuant to the Quirinale Treaty after the previous meeting in Paris between Urso and Le Maire, with the aim of identifying solutions to be proposed at European level in areas of common interest, through a productive and inclusive dialogue, open to the stakeholders of the two countries.
“The first meeting of the Ministerial Consultation Forum between Italy and France represents a decisive moment in the elaboration of a renewed European industrial policy, pragmatic and not ideological. The declaration approved today is proof of this, clearly stating that the two countries share the ambition to consolidate strategic autonomy on the green and digital transitions at the EU level. Such path could be achieved with greater flexibility in the use of European funds and with the adjustment of the rules on state aid based on the principle of solidarity, to ensure fair support to strategic sectors through effective and effective simplification and speeding up of procedures. This is the way to provide a concrete response from the European Union to the challenges of a global nature for our industrial sector” said the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso during his speech.
”I thank Adolfo Urso and his collaborators for their warm welcome in Rome. Today is the first official meeting of the Consultation Forum at our level since the entry into force of the Quirinale Treaty in February 2023. This meeting is all the more necessary as it takes place in a context global radically new in which we must project ourselves together. To meet these new challenges, France and Italy must strengthen theirs cooperation, especially in industrial sectors, setting a clear roadmap. It is on this that we have been able to work today and the declaration we are signing represents a new decisive stage in Franco-Italian relations. We share the same ambitions: to define a new, greener, more competitive and independent European industrial policy” he declared Bruno Le Maire.