Overview
- Confindustria, testifying at Parliament's budget hearings Monday, warned a longer Middle East war could trigger the most severe energy crisis in history.
- The association proposed a budget deviation, known in Italy as a scostamento, to allow extra deficit for aid tied to gas and power price jumps through December 2026.
- It asked to extend the fuel excise cut that expires May 2 and to raise tax credits for road carriers while opening them to passenger transport, with targeted support for air and sea operators.
- It also pressed to clear backlogs on permits for wind and solar projects and to simplify rules to lift renewables to 60% of Italy's energy mix by 2030.
- Confindustria estimated a lost 0.1 to 0.3 percentage points of growth if the war ended now and extra firm costs of €7 billion by June or €21 billion by year-end if it drags on, with its proposals now before lawmakers and the government.