Italy's Minister Urso backs ZES expansion to the North

Industry minister Adolfo Urso gave a positive reception to proposals from northern Italian regional leaders to extend the Zona Economica Semplificata (ZES) model to the Centre‑North of the country. He said the government will meet the regions in the coming days to start procedures for designating industrial acceleration zones under the European Industrial Accelerator Act, which aims to boost manufacturing, decarbonisation and high‑energy‑intensity sectors.

Urso highlighted the success of the single‑zone ZES in the South, which in just over two years delivered more than €55 billion of economic impact and created over 60 000 direct and indirect jobs for a public outlay of about €5 billion. He suggested a similar simplified logistics zone (ZLS) could cover the entire Centre‑North, with streamlined authorisations, tax incentives and digital single‑window services, while respecting EU rules.