At a Rome summit on 23 January 2026, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz unveiled a 19-page bilateral plan that calls for simpler EU regulation, closer cooperation on energy and defence, and more secure supply chains for critical raw materials.
The two governments, both reliant on export-led manufacturing, argue that the EU’s current rulebook is adding cost and delay at a moment when industrial sectors are being reshaped by the energy transition, new security demands, and shifts in global trade policy. In Rome, Ms Meloni said the EU’s ecological transition had “brought our industries to their knees”, while Mr Merz backed “legislative and regulatory self-restraint” to reduce administrative load.
The Rome plan follows a separate German–Italian “non-paper” circulated on 21 January 2026 ahead of an informal EU leaders’ retreat scheduled for 12 February 2026 at Alden Biesen, Belgium. The paper warns that Europe risks falling behind unless member states agree on concrete commitments on competitiveness at the February retreat and at the European Council in March.
A central argument in the document is that the EU’s own internal barriers remain substantial. It cites International Monetary Fund research estimating that remaining obstacles inside the single market amount to tariff-equivalent costs of 44 per cent for goods and more than 110 per cent for services.
On regulation, Berlin and Rome propose a cross-sector “Omnibus” initiative on permitting intended to accelerate approval procedures across the EU. Among the ideas set out is a presumption that, where administrations fail to decide within a defined period, an application could be treated as approved. The paper also urges the Commission to clear out pending legislative proposals that no longer match current objectives, describing them as “zombie initiatives”, and proposes tighter scrutiny of amendments added during negotiations in the Council and European Parliament where these create additional burdens.
The two capitals also call for a stronger single market focused on services, energy, capital markets, digital and telecommunications, arguing that deeper integration would lift growth. Proposals include a new “28th regime” for innovative firms to reduce fragmentation between national systems, an acceleration of cross-border worker mobility measures, and faster state-aid approvals, including through the ongoing revision of the General Block Exemption Regulation.
Trade policy forms another strand. The Rome plan and the competitiveness paper both support faster progress on EU trade agreements, including with partners in the Indo-Pacific, while also backing swift implementation of the EU’s agreement with South and Central American countries, an area where France has raised concerns linked to agriculture.
Energy and defence cooperation are presented as practical areas for bilateral coordination. The two countries signed a defence cooperation agreement in Rome covering joint work across land, air and maritime capabilities, alongside electronic warfare systems, framing it as part of a broader European effort to strengthen industrial capacity in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine and wider security pressures.
Critical raw materials sit alongside defence as a strategic priority. In a separate joint move announced in Rome, the two governments pledged to work together to secure supply chains for inputs used across manufacturing and emerging technologies, with Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani arguing that China should not be the sole actor shaping global raw-material prices.
The alignment also reflects shifting political geometry inside the EU. Germany and Italy have been more cautious than France in public responses to recent transatlantic tensions, with Mr Merz and Ms Meloni citing frequent coordination on the Greenland issue during the preceding week.
For Brussels, the German–Italian initiative lands as the Commission continues to present its own “better regulation” and simplification agenda, including proposals intended to reduce complexity in areas of environmental and industrial legislation.
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