Five regions of Northern Italy – Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto – have created a “Control Room of the Northern Regions”, with the aim of coordinating economic and industrial policies and building a single interlocutor with the government and the European Commission. The official launch took place on Friday 4 September 2026 in Turin, at the headquarters of the Piedmont region.
The project starts from a meeting held on 30 June in Milan between the councilors for economic development of the five regions: Andrea Tronzano (Piedmont), Vincenzo Colla (Emilia-Romagna), Alessio Piana (Liguria), Guido Guidesi (Lombardy) and Massimo Bitonci (Veneto). Together, the five regions contribute more than half of the national GDP.
The unique manufacturing district of the North
The first big challenge from the control room is the establishment of the Single Northern Manufacturing District, designed to make the regions more incisive in the dialogue with Rome and Brussels. The shared agenda ranges from areas of industrial acceleration to territorial tools such as the Innovation and Development Zones (Zis), the Simplified Logistics Zone (Zls) and the Regional Innovative Networks (Rir), passing through the strengthening of supply chains and investment support measures.
On the credit front, the issues at the center of the table are the mortgage moratorium, the Central Guarantee Fund for SMEs and, more generally, the financing instruments for companies involved in the industrial transition. Particular attention is paid to the certifications of SMEs and supply chains, considered a lever for strengthening quality and competitive capacity.
Innovation, talents and European rules
Another pillar of coordination is innovation: the objective is not only to support the development of new technologies, but to concretely transfer them into production processes, increasing productivity and competitiveness. The five regions also aim to build a common model to attract and retain talent, avoiding the fragmentation of interventions.
On the European rules front, among the themes identified is the review of the state aid regime, starting from de minimis, together with the issue of company sizing and national IPCEIs, tools to support strategic and technologically advanced projects.
The comparison with Confindustria and the next appointments
The control room has already broadened the scope of the discussion, involving the presidents and representatives of the regional Confindustrie. The intention is to transform institutional coordination into a shared agenda between regions and the production system.
The next appointment is set for October 23rd in Milan, on the occasion of the World manufacturing forum. Subsequently, the five regions will request joint meetings with the government and the European Commission. The “Business Decree”, announced for October, is indicated as the first useful opportunity to present the proposals developed in the joint work.