Decree for hauliers and farmers, 105 million and the conscription issue

After days of protests and road blockades in various Italian cities, the government has approved a decree aimed at hauliers, farmers and fishermen. The measure was examined on October 22 during a meeting of the Council of Ministers at Palazzo Chigi, at the end of which the Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida and the Deputy Minister of Transport Edoardo Rixi outlined the contents of the text at a press conference.

According to what was reported, an agreement has been reached with the haulage associations: the planned resources are already being disbursed, while the decree also introduces new measures for the agricultural and fishing sectors. The overall amount of the allocated aid is 105 million euros.

During the press conference, Deputy Minister Rixi stated that the government is considering resorting to conscription, the tool that can impose the end of a state of agitation when the continuity of essential services is deemed at risk. The statement signals that tension with part of the category has not yet been fully resolved, despite the agreement reached with the sector associations.

Not all the protagonists of the protest have welcomed the measures positively. In Naples a convoy of heavy vehicles expressed disappointment at the contents of the decree, a sign that the agreement reached at the national level with the associations does not uniformly reflect the mood on the ground. A gap therefore remains between the measure announced in Rome and its perception among those who drove the blockades in previous weeks.

Commenting on the government’s initiative, the President of the Council Giorgia Meloni stated: “The Government listens to those who protest peacefully and works to provide concrete answers”.

The decree comes at the end of a phase of mobilization that has involved various productive categories and that has prompted the executive to intervene with an ad hoc tool, separate from normal budget planning. It remains to be seen, in the coming days, whether the disbursement of resources already underway for hauliers and the arrival of funds for farmers and fishermen will be enough to close the dispute even in the areas where the protest continues, starting with the Naples convoy that has already signaled its dissatisfaction.

The matter now hinges on the practical implementation of the announced measures: 105 million euros distributed among several categories, a formal agreement with the national haulage associations and a conscription tool kept on the table but not yet activated.