Today, one year after the signature of the bilateral German-Italian plan of action on 22 November 2023 by Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Germany's Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz as part of German-Italian intergovernmental consultations, Germany's Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, and Italy's Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, held their first Ministerial Forum in Berlin to reinforce the existing excellent bilateral economic relations and - given the current geostrategic challenges - pave the way for even closer collaboration in the future.

Taking into consideration the relevant report of Mario Draghi, the Ministers discussed means to boost the EU’s competitiveness, in particular the automotive sector and energy intensive industries.

Germany’s Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck: „As industrial heavyweights, Germany and Italy are strongly committed to boosting the EU’s competitiveness in line with the Green Deal and climate goals, building on Draghi’s report – an unmistakable wake-up call. We must unleash the full potential of the Single Market, cut unnecessary red tape and set the framework conditions right to make future and green technologies “made in EU” a globally successful business case. The announced Clean Industrial Deal is a key element in this regard. For this, we need internationally competitive energy prices as well as a reliable planning security for future investments, especially for our energy intensive industries.”

Italy's Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso: “EU must act rapidly to reverse the ongoing industrial decline, which is at risk of deepening over the next year, as underscored by the severe crises in the automotive and steel sectors. A robust industrial policy is urgently needed to reposition our system at the heart of global production chains, as recommended in the Draghi and Letta reports. This entails investing in cutting-edge technologies, restoring competitiveness, and safeguarding European jobs. To this end, a realistic revision of the CBAM rules is imperative, along with the creation of a comprehensive European automotive plan. Such a plan should include shared resources to support investments while adopting a fully technology-neutral approach. These measures are crucial to achieving the Continent’s strategic autonomy within the twin transition. In this context, industrial cooperation between Italy and Germany—cemented by the first ministerial meeting following the signing of the bilateral Action Plan—is of paramount importance. Together, we can become key drivers of change, guiding EU institutions toward a transformative “growth and green deal” agenda.”

Bilateral working groups ensure continued cooperation at working level

The plan of action stipulated increased and institutionalized cooperation in the areas of industrial policy, space, digital and green technologies, established an annual meeting at ministerial level between the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the Italian Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy. The working groups initiated their collaboration in their first year and actively promoted practical exchange.
The working group on European legislation defined common priorities for the next EU Commission and exchanged in particular on the need of EU SMEs and on the reduction of administrative burden, e.g. through reality checks or the reduction of barriers to cross-border service provision.

The working group on Industrial Cooperation established a regular exchange on current topics in the field of industrial policy and to identify potential fields of industrial cooperation concerning the automotive industry, Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) and the national implementation of the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA).

The working group on Digitalisation has focused on two main priorities in 2024, i.e. the importance of leveraging opportunities offered by European projects, to foster synergies among key stakeholders from both countries, and the findings of the Draghi Report on digitalisation, which addresses challenges and provides recommendations to accelerate the adoption of new technologies within the European industrial sector.

In the field of Industry 4.0, the working group discussed the development of a federated, decentralized, and collaborative data ecosystem for smart manufacturing and Italy’s future increased role within the International Manufacturing-X initiative. The working group also discussed the Hannover Fair 2025 and the ways in which the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy will be able to participate in it.

The Space working group proposed ideas to ensure that a European space legislation reflects the interests of the Member States, balances public as well as private roles, and aims to promote the European space landscape while ensuring the competitiveness of the industrial sector and aiming for strategic sovereignty. Also, a fruitful cooperation on IRIS2, the new EU satellite communication program, was a fundamental part of the activity.

Additional perspective by participation of industry associations and chambers

As key stakeholders, the national industry associations BDI and Confindustria, whose cooperation is explicitly highlighted in the bilateral plan of action, as well as the German and Italian chambers of commerce DIHK, AHK, ITKAM and ITALCAM have participated in today's meeting. Under the overarching topic "German-Italian bilateral economic relations in the light of current developments at European level", the representatives were able to report first-hand about the opportunities as well as challenges currently faced by industrial companies and producers. The Ministers agreed to take these impulses into account for their future agenda.

German-Italian Plan of Action

German version: www.bundesregierung.de/2023-11-22-dtitaktionsplan-data.pdf

Italian version: www.governo.it/PianodAzione_IT-DE_20231122.pdf.