Ukraine: Meroni (Confindustria Est Europa), ‘very critical situation, everything has stopped’

The situation for the approximately one hundred Italian companies present in Ukraine and for the entrepreneurial fabric is “very critical”. In the country devastated by war and Russian bombing, transport and infrastructure are interrupted. “By now everything has stopped,” the president of Confindustria Est Europa, Maria Luisa Meroni, told Adnkronos. Initially, the Italian entrepreneurs with activities in Ukraine “did not want to abandon their businesses, not being able to imagine such an expansion of the conflict”. Then the situation worsened. Criticalities that companies in Ukraine are experiencing and that “are also found in Russia, where there are about 400 Italian companies, left to fend for themselves”, explains Meroni. In the emergency Confindustria Ukraine has opened a help desk to collect information and give indications to Italian entrepreneurs and companies in difficulty. And Confindustria “took action by working in a coordinated manner also with international representatives in the area, in particular with Confindustria Russia and Confindustria Ukraine in support of Italian companies”, continues Meroni. The economic consequences of the conflict extend to the rest of Europe and above all on Eastern European companies, with “significant repercussions”. Since the beginning of the conflict, the situation in Eastern European countries “has worsened, with serious consequences on a social, humanitarian, economic and entrepreneurial level”. To weigh on the activity of companies in the area are “the supply difficulties for the industry, the uncertainty and volatility on the financial markets, the peaks in energy prices and the sanctions that have been applied” to Russia, he continues the president of Confindustria Est Europa. And among the sectors mainly affected are mechanics, luxury and agri-food. In Eastern European countries, Meroni underlines, “production slowdowns have clearly been recorded as a result of the pandemic and the conflict”, but “in several of them companies are supported by state contributions”. For the president of Confindustria Est Europa “until a negotiated solution is reached and until joint solutions are found at European level, unifying the regulations on energy and taxation, the situation will only get worse”. In particular, “structural measures are increasingly urgent” to buffer the emergency situation, for example “with a common and regulated price of gas and an energy transition that is not penalizing. Furthermore, it is very important that Europe is united also in regulatory framework “. In Italy, the repercussions of the conflict have further fueled an already critical situation. So much so that many entrepreneurs might think of a relocation of their businesses or in any case of an internationalization. “In embracing the cause of entrepreneurs who recognize the opportunities for internationalization in the strategic Eastern European neighborhood, I believe that timely government measures are essential to support our companies that have sacrificed their operating margins in recent months”, for example, concludes Meroni, ” it is necessary to reduce the tax wedge to be more competitive at European level “.