ROMA (ITALPRESS) – The main European dossiers of relevance for the energy industries – with particular reference to CBAM, ETS, safeguard measures for steel and ferrolegae and European Action Plans for steel, metal and chemical – were at the center of the comparison table at Mimit chaired by the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso.
The meeting was attended by the delegates of ministries concerned and the main associations of the energetic industries of the chemical, mechanical, glass, paper, steel, ceramics, cement, manufacturing, steel and rubber-plastic sectors.
“The process of reviewing the European dossiers that impact energy companies has begun thanks to Italy, which has been able to build consensus with other EU countries starting from the non-paper of revision of CBAM and the one on European chemistry,” said the minister.
“The 2026 – Urso continued – will have to be the year of reforms and change. It is now necessary to take courageous and pragmatic decisions from the Commission to defend and relaunch European production of the most exposed sectors, such as automotive and energy industries. We’re not gonna quit. We’re not gonna settle for palliatives. Radical, immediate reforms are needed.”
During the meeting, the minister reported on the results of the talks in Brussels with five European Commissioners, including Stèphane Sèjournè and Teresa Ribera, and with the Italian delegation to the European Parliament on the reforms of industrial policy on the Continent. These themes will also be at the centre of the informal meeting of European Leaders on the competitiveness of 12 February and the Competitiveness Council of 26 February.
On the extension of CBAM to downstream products, Urso stressed the Italian demand for greater ambition and faster times, highlighting that the date of 1 January 2028 is too far away. It is also necessary to carefully define the scope of the products included to protect the industrial supply chains and avoid distortions, carefully evaluating the possible extension to pre-consumption ferrous scraps.
Finally, more clarity is needed on the functioning of the temporary fund for decarbonization and anti-elusion mechanisms of CBAM. As regards the revision of the ETS system, it has been reiterated that “it must take into account the first evidence of CBAM and correct market distortions, starting from excessive volatility of prices linked to speculative phenomena. The Minister explained that for some energy sectors, climate neutrality remains technically and economically unattainable today, transforming the ETS into an additional form of taxation.”
“The maintenance of free quotas beyond 2034 would therefore be a balanced tool to recognize the efforts of enterprises already engaged in decarbonization, waiting for further energy carriers to be fully mature and economically accessible,” says Mimit.
Urso then focused on the European Action Plan for the Chemical Industry and the Industrial Accelerator Act, which will be presented by the Commission, which provides for the promotion of the driving markets and the principle of European preference to support the products of the energy industries, such as steel, green cement and automotive.
Finally, on the national level, the Minister recalled that the Mimit is at work with the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security and with the other competent dicasteries for the definition of the energy decree.
The meeting, which follows the one on Friday’s automotive, falls within the cycle of comparisons that the Mimit is carrying out with the different national industrial sectors. “We must create a shock force – the minister has highlighted – that acts with cohesion and unity of intent, government, associations, unions so that Europe moves, without infinity, immediately.”.
– Mimit press office photos –
(ITALPRESS).
