The Italian Council of Ministers has approved a decree-law providing urgent support for the road haulage, agriculture and fisheries sectors, in response to protests - largely by truckers - against the soaring cost-of-living crisis and rising fuel prices.
In the early hours of Thursday, before the decree was approved, truckers in Sicily and Calabria had suspended their operations - including the hauling of foodstuffs as part of their protest efforts.
Officials in Italy said that the strikes had halted the production of the famed buffalo mozzarella, causing an estimated 3 million-euro loss in just 24 hours as the milk cannot reach dairies in the Naples region and the finished cheese cannot reach customers.
Many have begun to gradually resume deliveries of foodstuffs after the decree was signed into law on Thursday, but the wider protest has not stopped and has grown to incorporate more ports in the country's south, with many vessels still refusing to return to work due to the high price of diesel.
The decree allocates €60 million to cover fuel costs in the agricultural sector. These funds are due to "arrive very quickly through Agea", according to Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida.
'The governmnent listens'
The money will be used to purchase approximately 121 million litres of fuel, "with a contribution of up to 45 cents".
"After a first intervention that covered the initial part of the year, this measure runs until 15 October, compensating the companies that have bought agricultural fuel," added Lollobrigida,
The Agriculture Ministry is expected to set out the procedures and deadlines for submitting the documents proving the supply of petrol or diesel in the coming days, and will make direct payment of the subsidy to beneficiaries within thirty days of receiving the paperwork.
The contribution will be paid by crediting the beneficiaries' bank accounts.
"Agreement with the road haulage associations, funds already being paid out and new measures for farmers and fishermen approved today by the Council of Ministers," wrote Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a post on X.
"The government listens to those who demonstrate peacefully and works to provide concrete responses," she added.
Meloni detailed that she has asked Interior Minister Piantedosi to "accept the request coming from the haulage, farming and retail associations to guarantee free movement, the supply of goods to businesses and therefore to citizens, while also preventing speculation on prices that would otherwise be inevitable".
Dismantling of blockades still planned
But tensions continue to remain high between the government and protesters, who are refusing to back away from their demands.
Deputy Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Edoardo Rixi said at a press conference that imposing a back-to-work order on the blockades has been requested to ensure essential public services return, which are seriously at risk due to schools resorting to remote teaching and fuel shortages in some areas such as Campania.
Rixi reiterated the importance of constructive dialogue, while confirming the intention to move ahead with dismantling the blockades in the South if the talks break down.
"The back-to-work order and other measures are the last tools we want to deploy before clearing the protests," he said.
"We cannot allow supermarkets in Naples to be empty indefinitely or people to have to walk because filling stations have no petrol. In the next few hours we will take a decision in the light of the answers that are given."