Rimini, August 25, 2026 – Businesses and economic development. The Rimini Meeting was the stage for the discussion on the topic, first remotely and then on the same stage, between Michele de Pascale, Attilio Fontana – presidents of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy – and the minister Adolfo Urso. The occasion, for the two governors, to relaunch the “northern axis.” “We ask – de Pascale’s words before participating in the conference with Urso and Fontana – for a leap forward for the entire national politics. In recent months, four economic development assessors from Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, and Piedmont have worked on a joint document and we will soon present it with a series of proposals to all political forces, given that we are also heading towards elections.”
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President de Pascale: “We have a part of the country raising an alarm”
A text addressed “mainly to the government towards the next budget law, but in a transversal way. Today – emphasizes de Pascale – we have a part of the country raising an alarm. It is now 30 consecutive months of decline in industrial production.” And what comes from the north “is not territorial selfishness. The north does not ask for itself. The north wants to be put in a position to be more useful to the country and Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy in this sense I believe can do a lot.”
Fontana: “When we talk about autonomy we do not ask for any extra euro”
Fontana, at the conference ‘Italy of businesses: roots and international vision,’ highlighted the need for “regulations that are simple, fast, and that allow us to compete with other European regions that have the ability to decide faster than us. When we talk about autonomy we do not ask for any extra euro, despite Lombardy being the Italian region with the highest fiscal residue.”
The meeting with Salvini
The Lega governor met Matteo Salvini at the Communion and Liberation event: the deputy prime minister and leader of the Lega and the president of Lombardy met at the Mit pavilion after the debate and tensions of recent weeks on the future of the party. Signs of thaw: between the two also a handshake.
De Pascale calls for a turning point from the government
On the energy issue it is de Pascale who calls for a change of pace from the government. “That renewable production must be radically increased in our country – he says – is the only certainty we have.” In this sense, emphasizes the Pd governor, asked about the issue of bill costs and the extra profits of oil companies, “there is too much timidity, much more push is needed. It may also be unpopular, but if we continue to use resources as doping and do not tackle the problem at its root, that is if we do not structurally reduce the cost of energy, in the end part of that money goes to speculators.”
The migrant issue
Finally the migrant issue: the president of Emilia Romagna returned to the CPR issue that the government would like to open in the Region. Reiterating that those structures as they are today do not work. “The CPRs – he says – are not working. They were born as places of first reception after landing and today host only people with criminal records, and they do not even have security conditions. But the answer cannot be just no, because there must be a strategy to also make the expulsions of dangerous people enforceable.”
