Easier to invest in the south – Corriere.it

The European Commission has given the go-ahead to create a single Zes for the southern regions. European Affairs Minister Raffaele Vietto met in Brussels with the head of competition, Margrethe Vestager, to present the Italian proposal for a single private centre. The economic zone of the entire south, surpassing the current eight special economic zones. The ministry said Vestager welcomed the proposal.

Meloni: “It’s a change of pace for the south”

“The development of the economy of the south is a priority of our government. However, we are convinced that this goal must be achieved by abandoning the logic of luxury that does not work, but by providing employment and growth opportunities and making these regions of the country competitive and attractive for investments and business,” stated Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. «Zes bachelor walks in This is exactly the trend and constitutes a change of pace for the economy of the south. It is also a good thing to open a dialogue with the European Union Commission to adjust the measure of the contribution of the south and make it permanent.”

“These measures represent important tools to increase the attractiveness and competitiveness of southern Italy by reducing the gaps with the rest of the country and the European Union,” Vito stressed. “The single Zes represents an important opportunity to develop and attract investments, which, along with the efficient use of European and national resources, can make southern Italy an important reference point not only for our country but for the entire European continent.”

What is Zes?

The so-called Special Economic Zones (Zes), that is, regions that have economic legislation that is different and more favorable compared to that in force in the rest of the country, were created in 2017 by the Gentiloni government. But they only started working in 2022, after the Draghi government kicked them out by listing them on Pnrr. The National Recovery and Resilience Plan has allocated 630 million to provide these regions with the necessary infrastructure to attract new capital and to establish efficient connections between national and European transport networks.

How does one stop work?

Each Zes has a steering committee, which is chaired by a government-appointed extraordinary commissioner. Eight of them were established in the south: Campania, Calabria, Ionian (Apulia Basilicata), Adriatica (Apulia Molise), Sardinia, Abruzzo, Eastern Sicily and Western Sicily. Since the summer of 2022, with the Draghi government, an online “one-stop-shop” has been set up for all Zes, where companies can apply for permits for new investments. This made it possible to greatly simplify the bureaucratic process and shorten the time. What is new now, with the go-ahead from Brussels, is that there will not be eight zests but one for all of the south. “On the operational level, the only permission to start productive activities is to reduce one-third of the procedures’ completion times,” says the government.