Bringing a spotlight to the persistent employment woes in southern Italy, Giuseppe Antoci from The Left calls on the European Union to champion job growth in regions like Sicily, Calabria, and Campania. This push targets an employment gap that uniquely challenges local workers, especially women, and stretches across industry, social welfare, and regional governance sectors — all ripe for stirred reaction.
Antoci’s parliamentary question (E-004099/2025) asks the European Commission to assess concerning Eurostat data showing southern Italy’s employment rates lag well behind EU averages, and to outline concrete policies addressing these disparities.
The Commission’s reply, delivered by Executive Vice-President Mînzatu, confirms an upward trend in Italy’s employment post-COVID (national 67.1% in 2024), yet underscores a significant regional divide, citing structural weaknesses and a prevalence of smaller, less innovative companies in the South. No sweeping new concrete policy proposals or numerical targets beyond existing frameworks are introduced. Instead, the response highlights ongoing utilization and obligations tied to the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and ERDF programs, including Italy dedicating at least 12.5% of ESF+ funding to youth employment and training.
The policy direction favours leveraging existing EU instruments targeting activation measures, vocational training, labor market participation, tax shifts, and women’s workforce involvement notably via childcare access. This maintains the balance between respecting Member States’ competencies in labour policies and pressing for EU-supported cohesion.
Stakeholder impacts are mixed: southern Italian job seekers and women could benefit substantially from enhanced activation and childcare access. Conversely, employers — particularly small firms — may face pressures to innovate and compete in a market nudged towards higher employment standards and job quality. National and regional authorities are challenged to effectively deploy EU funds and reforms to meet ambitious 2030 employment targets.
With a required Commission reply timeframe, this exchange signals a continued EU commitment to regional cohesion but stops short of committing to new regulatory expansions or drastic reallocations, spotlighting an institutional emphasis on strategic support rather than overhaul.