Industrial production in
Italy has dropped by around 25% on its 2007 level, after a 5%
fall in 2013, the European Commission said Thursday in a report
on competitiveness.
In the report the EC put Italy in the second in four groups
of countries on the basis of their competitiveness, alongside
other "Member States with high but stagnating or declining
competitiveness".
The other countries in this group are Belgium, Britain,
Austria, France, Luxembourg, Sweden and Finland.
Italy is currently in its third recession since the start
of the global economic crisis in 2008 and the downturns have had
a big impact on industry and unemployment, which has almost
doubled to over 12% with over 40% of under-25s jobless.
"The toll taken by the crisis on Italian industry has been
huge in terms of output and employment," read the EC report.
"Industrial production is around 25% below the pre-crisis
level, a general decrease that also affects sectors - such as
automotive, consumer appliances and footwear - that have long
been the backbone of Italian industry.
But the report also pointed out that Italian manufacturing
still accounts for 15.5% of GDP, above the EU average of 15.1%,
and is a key source of innovation and competitiveness,
contributing 70% of private R&D expenditure and providing almost
80% of exports.
It said "niches" of scientific excellence existed in
sectors such as advanced materials, nanotechnology, photonics,
electronics, robotics and stressed that "the potential for
Italian companies to become more global-minded is an opportunity
to be seized".
The EC called on the Italian government to move forward on
reforms that would boost competitiveness.
"The business environment and the public administration
continue to weigh on Italy's competitiveness," the report read.
"The time it takes the public administration to pay its
bills - 180 days on average - remains a problem; in the fourth
quarter of 2013, 62.5 % of the value of invoices due had not
been paid.
"Some progress has been achieved in the field of civil
justice but proceedings are still lengthy and the number of
cases pending remains high.
"The anti-corruption law has strengthened the means to
fight corruption, but its effective implementation needs to be
watched closely.
"Some progress towards administrative simplification has
also been achieved.
"But, overall, continued and comprehensive efforts are
still needed for a competitive business environment to emerge".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
