#Assise2018 - Confindustria General Assembly to be held in Verona on 16 February

Milan, 8 February 2018 – “Not electoral promises, but a comprehensive economic policy plan”: this is the concept behind the Confindustria Assembly, a moment for the entire Confindustria system to meet and reflect, in order to present political parties and citizens with a strategic perspective for a lasting project of development, growth, and employment. During the event on 16 February in Verona, Confindustria will place industrial issues and competitiveness at the heart of the electoral debate, because ‘a competitive industry is the pre-condition for countering inequality and poverty, reducing gaps, and ensuring inclusive and dynamic growth’.

The Confindustria Lombardia system, representing businesses in one of Europe’s economic engines and one of the world’s leading manufacturing regions, has made a significant contribution to the project that will be presented during the Assembly.

For the President of Confindustria Lombardia, Marco Bonometti, “competitiveness is the cornerstone of the country’s future, and we must therefore make every effort to bridge the gaps with the most dynamic areas of Europe and the world. To do this, we need a policy that puts business at the centre and is aware that the entrepreneurial and industrial system represents the country’s true major asset. We must aim to implement a genuine industrial policy for the country’s development with a strategic vision that lasts over time and has a long-term, multi-year horizon: Lombardy and Italy will increasingly need manufacturing”.

“For the post-election period – adds Bonometti – it is essential to hope for political stability, accompanied by interventions that are close to the business world: we do not expect favouritism, but at the same time, we trust in the end of the anti-business culture. In all these challenges, the contribution of the Lombard Confindustria system, aware of the economic and productive driving role of Lombard businesses, represents a winning element for the growth of the entire national economy,” concluded President Bonometti.

The three country missions identified by Confindustria are more jobs, more growth, less public debt. We must not dismantle the work done in recent years that has yielded positive economic results. There are policies that have affected production factors across economic sectors and have allowed for the acceleration of change. These policies – above all the Jobs Act and the National Industry 4.0 Plan – must be evaluated for the effects they have generated and adapted to make them more effective if necessary, but not weakened for ideological reasons.

Confindustria’s action will be developed across six areas, involving businesses, Europe, and Italian politics:

• A simpler and more efficient Italy.
• Preparing for the future: education, training, and youth inclusion.
• A sustainable country: investments as an insurance for the future.
• Business that changes and operates globally
• A tax system that supports investment and growth.
• Europe as the best place to do business.

It is precisely this international dimension that will define this Confindustria event. Two foreign guests have been invited to speak: the former President of the European Commission (and now non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs) Barroso, and the French political scientist (and Luiss professor) Lazar.

The Assembly proceedings will be closed by Confindustria President Vincenzo Boccia.

Attachments

• Confindustria General Assembly Programme - 16 February 2018.pdf
• Assise_Confindustria_8Feb2018.pdf