Bologna, August 16, 2026 – The stone was thrown from these columns by the president of Abi, Antonio Patuelli, last July 23. A reflection on the possibility of further expansions of the Special Economic Zone. An idea immediately supported by entrepreneurs and the institutions themselves, starting with the governor of Emilia-Romagna, Michele de Pascale. On Friday, the opening came from the president of the Council, Giorgia Meloni, who, in a long interview with Milano Finanza, put it this way: “We are studying the most effective technical methods to extend to the entire national territory some of the mechanisms that are currently working very well in the southern regions and that have contributed over the years to making the South grow more than the national average.”
Meloni: “We are observing the benefits of the SEZ”
Specifically, Meloni argued, “one of the options is to extend the simplifications currently provided by the single SEZ to investments that exceed a certain threshold, in some specific economic and productive sectors, agreed upon and identified together with the Central-Northern regions. It is a dossier we are following with great attention – Meloni concluded – because we are seeing what benefits the SEZ is producing on growth and employment and we want to amplify its results.”
The rationale of the SEZ
In the article of July 23, Patuelli had explained the rationale of the SEZ, “a geographical area delimited within the territory of a European Union State, in which companies can obtain special conditions related to investments and development activities, primarily with administrative simplifications, investment tax credits, and social security contribution reliefs for new permanent hires.”
The 2023 law
The single SEZ for the South was established by State law in 2023 and includes the territories of the regions Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and Sardinia. By law in 2025, it was also extended to Marche and Umbria. “The evident success of the Italian SEZ – explained Patuelli – has stimulated the current debate on the possibilities of further expanding its operational areas which now have as their northern boundary the Torrente Tavollo, which divides Marche from Romagna. But has the Torrente Tavollo now legally become, for the Italian SEZ, a mythical, insurmountable boundary, like the ancient ‘Pillars of Hercules’? Reading the current European regulations, it is noted that the hypothesis that all of Italy could become an SEZ is complex, but it can be further extended also to disadvantaged provinces or municipalities.”
Reflection on mountain areas
In particular, in his reflection Patuelli cited “large territorial areas in the Center-North, primarily in the Apennines, and some in the Alps, which have seen many economic activities close, suffer from outdated communication lines and have suffered and continue to suffer severe levels of depopulation. These areas, especially mountainous, indisputably depressed, must now be analyzed and carefully considered for the realistic expansion of the Italian SEZ to them as well.”
