Italy’s Prime Minister, Georgia Meloni, and her government have recently passed the ‘Made in Italy’ bill, which aims to promote and protect Italian products that possess cultural significance. This move has come amidst concerns about Italy’s decreasing birth rate and the ‘brain drain’ of young people leaving the country to seek education and employment opportunities abroad.
The primary objective of this bill is to boost the economy and support social inclusion, especially for young female entrepreneurs. The Italian government hopes that this bill will be instrumental in promoting Italian excellence worldwide while also protecting its cultural heritage. To achieve this, the bill entails measures to support businesses, promote education and training that revolves around the products made in Italy, and safeguard Italian products’ cultural value.
The bill also includes the creation of a €1 billion sovereign wealth fund, which will finance strategic sectors in the country such as the food industry. This investment aims to attract capital and make direct and indirect government investments to support businesses.
Additionally, the bill proposes the establishment of a ‘Made in Italy’ high school to promote knowledge and skills linked to the excellence of Italian products and tradition. A new ‘mentoring’ scheme will also be launched, allowing private employers to enter into contracts with retired workers for up to 24 months, providing mentoring to young new hires. Moreover, €15 million has been set aside for the development of new female-led businesses throughout the country.
The government aims to celebrate Italian creativity and excellence by designating a national Made in Italy Day on April 15th every year, which also coincides with Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday. Italian restaurants abroad can apply for a new ‘Italian restaurant in the world’ certification.
The bill also emphasizes Italy’s support for NutrInform Battery, the food labelling system that Italy champions as an alternative to the traffic-light NutriScore system. This labelling system focuses on promoting the correct use of the nutritional indications of food products, supporting the Mediterranean diet, increasing awareness and transparency in favour of consumers.
Moreover, funds will be established to protect Italian geographical indications and enhance biodiversity. The latter aims to support traditional practices, districts, and the rural landscape through the help of genetic programs, including the districts of the typical Italian product.
Finally, the bill provides measures to guarantee the recognition and origin of Italian products. An official mark certifying the Italian origin of the goods will be introduced, which companies can affix voluntarily on goods produced in the national territory, while production regulations will be adopted for products of specific geographical areas. New technologies, such as the national blockchain catalogue set by the European Blockchain Service Infrastructure, will be used for product traceability.
The president of Italy’s food industry association, Federalimentare, lauded the bill, calling it “an initiative of high social and economic value aimed at the development of the country, to which the food industry can make a great contribution.” The bill’s proposals, including promoting the NutrInform Battery label, quality certification for Italian restaurants abroad, and support for female entrepreneurship, will protect Italian products and food culture, he said.
However, some expressed concerns that the bill may evidence the government’s more nationalistic traits, which may cause unnecessary fragmentation in the Italian market and increase costs for Italian food manufacturers when doing business in the EU. Despite this, experts believe that Italy’s reliance on exporting its products will limit the extent of food nationalism that Italy can promote.
Overall, the Made in Italy bill is a mix of many things, and as for all bills, we will need to wait and see what becomes law.
