The Minister of Enterprises Adolfo Urso announced today the restoration and expansion of the economic resources allocated to Transition 5.0, the incentive program for the digitalization and energy efficiency of Italian companies. The funds will indeed rise to 1.5 billion euros, 200 million more than previously planned.
THE TABLE AT MIMIT
Urso’s announcement, made during a meeting organized at the Ministry of Enterprises with employer associations, should help mend the rift between Giorgia Meloni’s government and Confindustria. The president of the organization, Emanuele Orsini, has precisely expressed his “appreciation for the fact that in such a difficult and unstable geopolitical context support for businesses is recognized.”
THE BACKGROUND: THE CLASH BETWEEN CONFINDUSTRIA AND THE GOVERNMENT ON TRANSITION 5.0
The relations between Confindustria and the executive had broken down last week after the approval of a fiscal decree-law that drastically reduced the incentives of Transition 5.0 for the so-called “exited companies,” lowering them from 1.3 billion to 537 million.
In summary, with the budget law the government had allocated 1.3 billion for those companies that had not been able to access the resources provided by the program – tax credits, that is, tax discounts – before its revision. However, last Friday’s decree more than halved the promised amount, reducing it to 537 million.
“We had received assurances from Ministers Giorgetti, Foti, and Urso that the so-called ‘exited’ 5.0 companies with appropriate projects would have access to the incentive under the conditions provided in the Plan, which was set to conclude on December 31, 2025,” Confindustria declared. “The fact of not being able to rely on the government’s rules and statements deeply undermines companies’ trust in institutions and incentive measures and discourages those who would like to continue doing business in Italy.”
In response, the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti had justified the cut in resources explaining that “we had a trajectory, certain types of programs, then something happened beyond our control [the war in the Persian Gulf, editor’s note] that essentially leads us to reflect on what we must do, whom we must help and whom we must incentivize. The issue of the decree-law, particularly the resources allocated for the so-called exited Transition 5.0 applications, stems precisely from this.”
CRISIS RESOLVED…
With the meeting at the Ministry of Enterprises, however, the crisis seems to have been resolved.
The “exited companies” of Transition 5.0 – that is, those that had submitted a tax credit request for capital goods from November 7 to 27, 2025, before the resources ran out – will have access to 1.5 billion, more than what was allocated in the budget law. The amount is very close to the 1.6 billion to which the “exited” would have been entitled before the so-called “early closure” of Transition 5.0.
… BUT WHERE DO THE FUNDS COME FROM?
It is not clear where the 1.5 billion will come from, however. The Deputy Minister of Economy said they come “from the forecasts we had made,” while the Minister for European Affairs Tommaso Foti – more grim – said “from some sacrifices.”
EVERYONE HAPPY
The outcome of the matter satisfies Confindustria. President Orsini expressed his “appreciation for the meeting and also for Minister Urso for defending industry. Maintaining 1.3 billion with an addition of 200 million means bringing it from 35% of last Friday’s decree to 90% and 100% on photovoltaic panels. This was the right path because I believe that this way entrepreneurs continue to trust institutions.”
Similarly, the president of Confcommercio, Marco Barbieri, said that the government “has put businesses back at the center and businesses can enjoy what was actually promised to them.” Also for the president of Confesercenti, Nico Gronchi, the meeting at the Ministry of Enterprises “was a positive table.”
