The European designVon der Leyen’s six priorities for reindustrialisation. Words and deedsOn her return from the summer break, the Commission President set out the path to follow to halt the decline in competitiveness. Following in the footsteps of Mario DraghibyDavid Carretta28 AUG 26
In EuropeThe EU’s path to resolving the budget equation. Debt ‘rollover’ and the 2027–34 budgetNo new shared debt to finance the next EU budget: caught between resistance from the frugal countries and the need to find resources for defence, competitiveness, agriculture and cohesion, Brussels is considering extending the repayment schedule for NextGenerationEU to avoid a further squeeze on public financesbyDavid Carretta26 AUG 26
the industrial crisisThe truth about the former Ilva: what these 14 years have taught usIt is time to bring an end to the integrated hot-rolling steel production cycle in Italy. And there is only one party to blame: the state, which, through successive governments, has adopted a string of contradictory measuresbyOscar Giannino21 AUG 26
THE INTERVIEWPichetto puts the brakes on the renewable energy commissioner; Confindustria pushes ahead: “Extraordinary powers are needed”Increasing the energy supply whilst also speeding up the authorisation process for green energy plants: this is the request from Viale dell’Astronomia, which is pressing for a technical expert. “Cingolani? It is not for us to comment on specific candidates,” says Vice-President Aurelio Regina. The minister’s doubts as he rejects any speculationbyMaria Carla Sicilia11 AUG 26
THE SURVEYNolan’s greatest special effect is having put Homer back on the shelvesIn the first half of the year, sales of the poem in Italy saw an overall increase of 25 per cent, spread across 43 different editions. The reprints by Einaudi and Ippocampo, which, as reported in Il Foglio, state: “The film has brought back into the limelight one of the seminal works of our literary culture, all too often confined to the confines of the classroom.”bySergio Tomaselli6 AUG 26
The storyForget Ceuta. Schlein heads to Pigneto for her ‘heatwave’ planIn the midst of the crisis with Spain, the secretary presents the PD’s proposals for tackling climate-related extreme weather events because “this, too, is a matter of urban security”. These include models such as Medellín and the staunch defence of the ETS. Corrado: “Summer used to be a dream; now it’s a nightmare”byLuca Roberto1 AUG 26
Dear Elly, I’m writing to youThree Democratic Party mayors from Emilia tell the party secretary: the ETS system isn’t for everyoneMayors Matteo Mesini, Marco Biagini and Giorgio Zanni speak out from the ceramics district: Europe, Meloni and Schlein must listen to us; the sector is under strain. No to grandstanding; more attention must be paid to the regions that produce and wish to remain competitivebyMarianna Rizzini31 JUL 26
the PD and businessesThe secret meeting between Schlein and Confindustria's presidentETS, tariffs, wages, renewables. Following Draghi, Prodi and Gentiloni, the secretary of the Democratic Party met with the head of the industrialists’ association. Preview from Il Foglio29 JUL 26
energy sectorSchlein’s energy programme is not entirely convincingThe secretary of the PD outlined her ideas in an interview with the editor. She rightly emphasises regulatory simplification, but remained vague on the ETS and taxation, and the "Sardinia model"byCarlo Stagnaro25 JUL 26
a cross-party successMeloni and Gualtieri reach an agreement on the waste-to-energy plantThe government and the Mayor of Rome have persuaded Brussels on the ETS. The obligation to adopt the new mechanism remains, but has been postponed until 2036byLuciano Capone e Carlo Stagnaro23 JUL 26
