Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2666 actions· ✨ 90 recent

Italy's Department for Digital Transformation (Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri) and Invitalia S.p.A. signed an implementing agreement on 4-5 February 2026 establishing the EUR 733 million "Fondo Nazionale per la Connettività" (National Connectivity Fund), financed under PNRR Mission 1, Component 2, Investment 7. The fund provides non-repayable public grants to private telecom operators for ultra-broadband network build-out through 2029, targeting a minimum 1 Gbit/s download / 200 Mbit/s upload connection for covered property units, and requires a minimum 30% private co-financing share per project. Invitalia manages the fund through 31 December 2030.

Italy's state investment agency Invitalia approved a "Contratto di Sviluppo" (Development Contract) worth EUR 103.7 million in total investment for Italian Green Factory SpA (Tea Tek group), of which EUR 67 million is Invitalia state aid (financial grant plus state loan) on eligible costs, with a further EUR 29 million routed through the Fondo di Garanzia PMI (SME Guarantee Fund). The package reindustrialises the former Whirlpool site in Naples and a second plant in Pomigliano d'Arco for photovoltaic (solar) component production, plus two smaller R&D projects (predictive diagnostics for electrical transformers/panels; walkable solar installations for road infrastructure). The plan commits to retaining 294 previously-displaced Whirlpool workers and adding 55 new hires (349 total).

Italy's Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT) launched the "LogIN Business" grant scheme, a EUR 157 million PNRR (Next Generation EU) measure under sub-investment M3C2-I.2.1.3, to fund digital transformation at freight transport and logistics companies. The scheme, implemented via state-owned RAM S.p.A., co-finances (grant or de-minimis regime) at least 8,350 Italian and EU-based firms for interoperability with the National Logistics Platform (PLN), e-CMR document dematerialisation aligned with eFTI, and load-planning/route-optimisation systems, with 40% of funds reserved for Southern Italy. Applications opened via RAM S.p.A.'s dedicated portal with a 17 September 2025 deadline.

The European Commission approved, under EU State aid rules (Case SA.111368), Italy's reintroduction of tax and social-security relief for shipping companies that register vessels in the Italian International Register ("Registro Internazionale"). The scheme, worth an estimated EUR 5.4 billion, runs for a ten-year period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2033 and grants qualifying operators — including cruise-ship shipboard concessionaires — corporate income-tax reductions, withholding-tax credits, and exemptions from seafarer social-security and welfare contributions. The stated aim is to encourage ship registration under EU/EEA flags, strengthen the competitiveness of the Italian-flagged fleet, and raise compliance with EU social, environmental and safety standards; undertakings in financial difficulty are excluded.

Decreto-legge n. 19 of 2 March 2024 ("PNRR-quater"), converted into Law n. 56 of 29 April 2024, delivers Italy's fourth package of NGEU/PNRR implementation measures. Article 38 establishes the Transizione 5.0 plan, a EUR 6.3 billion tax-credit programme financed from ECOFIN-derived RepowerEU allocations targeting combined digital and energy-transition capital expenditure by Italian firms in fiscal years 2024–2025. The plan requires a certified minimum energy-consumption reduction (≥3% at production-structure level or ≥5% at process level) and relies on the GSE (Gestore Servizi Energetici) for ex-ante and ex-post energy-savings audits, making this the first Italian industrial-policy instrument to hard-wire measurable energy efficiency into capex-incentive eligibility.

Law No. 2 of 11 January 2024 (Gazzetta Ufficiale Serie Generale n. 10 of 13 January 2024, in force 14 January 2024) converts with amendments Decreto-Legge 15 November 2023, n. 161 ("Disposizioni urgenti per il «Piano Mattei» per lo sviluppo in Stati del Continente africano") into permanent law. The statute establishes Italy's first formal Africa-policy framework: a four-year strategic plan adopted by Presidential Decree (subject to parliamentary opinion), a Steering Committee ("Cabina di Regia") at Palazzo Chigi chaired by the Prime Minister, and a Mission Structure inside the Presidency to coordinate implementation. The Plan organises intervention along five thematic pillars (education/training, health, agriculture, water, energy / climate-energy nexus) across an initial nine pilot countries — Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Republic of Congo, and Tunisia — with an announced ~EUR 5.5bn envelope drawn primarily from the Italian Climate Fund (~EUR 3bn) and pre-existing development-cooperation resources (~EUR 2.5bn). Positions Italy as a transit corridor and industrial gateway between African resources and EU industry, layering onto the EU Global Gateway / Critical Raw Materials Act perimeter.