Italian government prepares decree on fuel aid as protests in the south overlap with unrest in northern cities.Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has called an emergency cabinet meeting on Thursday to approve a decree to help hauliers and farmers, after days of truckers’ blockades over fuel prices left supermarket shelves empty across southern Italy.The decree is meant to bring together support measures for road haulage and extra funds for agriculture. Palazzo Chigi said the continuing blockades, despite an agreement with the industry’s trade associations, showed a “more complex” situation. It called for a clear line between legitimate grievances and illegal behaviour. Truckers say fuel costs have become unsustainable. Deputy premier and transport minister Matteo Salvini has also criticised EU limits on aid for older, more polluting vehicles. The main haulage associations have since urged the government to clear the blockades. Salvini’s efforts fall short Salvini met haulier groups in Milan on Tuesday and announced that €1 billion in fuel-cost aid, pledging to unblock €480 million immediately. The aid is meant to cover 70 per cent of extra diesel costs between March and October. A further €590 million for replacing older vehicles is due from 1 January.Salvini also said he was open to a cap on diesel prices. But blockades continued in Campania, Puglia and parts of Sicily, and he called them illegal.The protests have eased in some places. After assurances from the prefect of Catania, Sicilian hauliers’ group Aias suspended its action on Wednesday night, as did Calabria’s Fedralog. Fedralog warned it would march on Rome if Salvini’s meeting with the sector on 27 October failed to deliver. Empty shelves and dry pumps Trade association Federdistribuzione said the situation in Campania, Puglia and Calabria was worsening, with fresh food rotting in warehouses. Business group Confesercenti said four in 10 southern firms had supply problems, with some restaurants forced to close.The airports of Crotone and Reggio Calabria have run out of aircraft fuel. Production of buffalo mozzarella has been halted. Kiwi fruit losses reportedly reached around €30 million in five days, Calabrian builders have reported shortages of steel and bitumen, and a Cosenza frozen-food firm said it would halt production. Political reaction Deputy prime minister Antonio Tajani said he understood the grievances but that blocking motorways would not lower diesel prices. Agriculture minister Francesco Lollobrigida suggested some protests had been "infiltrated" by criminals, newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reports. The mayors of Naples and Bari, Gaetano Manfredi and Vito Leccese, asked Salvini to bring forward the 27 October meeting, warning of cities being "paralysed". Campania governor Roberto Fico said the main response must come from national government. Risk of prosecution The interior ministry said that police had identified 1,339 people, with 71 reported to prosecutors and 242 fined, mostly in Campania, news agency ANSA reports. About 500 trucks have been given police escorts. Business minister Adolfo Urso warned that blocking only lorries still counts as a road blockade, with possible prison terms. Reports have emerged of tyres being slashed to stop drivers leaving. Prefects have been told to watch for criminal infiltration. Pressure from the north The crisis comes as Meloni’s government also faces unrest in the north. Last weekend more than 5,000 people gathered in Milan’s Piazza Duomo to protest against fuel prices, low wages, taxes and the state of schools and healthcare. Clashes with police followed, and a core of several hundred took part in the violence. Shops were looted, and smaller protests brought disorder in Turin and Bologna. Traders estimated damage in Milan at over €1 million. The unrest has been compared to protests over fuel and living costs in France. Photo credit: Riccardo Arata / Shutterstock.com

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has called an emergency cabinet meeting on Thursday to approve a decree to help hauliers and farmers, after days of truckers’ blockades over fuel prices left supermarket shelves empty across southern Italy. The decree is meant to bring together support measures for road haulage and extra funds for agriculture. Palazzo Chigi said the continuing blockades, despite an agreement with the industry’s trade associations, showed a “more complex” situation. It called for a clear line between legitimate grievances and illegal behaviour. Truckers say fuel costs have become unsustainable. Deputy premier and transport minister Matteo Salvini has also criticised EU limits on aid for older, more polluting vehicles. The main haulage associations have since urged the government to clear the blockades. Salvini met haulier groups in Milan on Tuesday and announced that €1 billion in fuel-cost aid, pledging to unblock €480 million immediately. The aid is meant to cover 70 per cent of extra diesel costs between March and October. A further €590 million for replacing older vehicles is due from 1 January.

Salvini also said he was open to a cap on diesel prices. But blockades continued in Campania, Puglia and parts of Sicily, and he called them illegal.

The protests have eased in some places. After assurances from the prefect of Catania, Sicilian hauliers’ group Aias suspended its action on Wednesday night, as did Calabria’s Fedralog. Fedralog warned it would march on Rome if Salvini’s meeting with the sector on 27 October failed to deliver. Trade association Federdistribuzione said the situation in Campania, Puglia and Calabria was worsening, with fresh food rotting in warehouses. Business group Confesercenti said four in 10 southern firms had supply problems, with some restaurants forced to close.

The airports of Crotone and Reggio Calabria have run out of aircraft fuel. Production of buffalo mozzarella has been halted. Kiwi fruit losses reportedly reached around €30 million in five days, Calabrian builders have reported shortages of steel and bitumen, and a Cosenza frozen-food firm said it would halt production. Deputy prime minister Antonio Tajani said he understood the grievances but that blocking motorways would not lower diesel prices. Agriculture minister Francesco Lollobrigida suggested some protests had been "infiltrated" by criminals, newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reports. The mayors of Naples and Bari, Gaetano Manfredi and Vito Leccese, asked Salvini to bring forward the 27 October meeting, warning of cities being "paralysed". Campania governor Roberto Fico said the main response must come from national government. The interior ministry said that police had identified 1,339 people, with 71 reported to prosecutors and 242 fined, mostly in Campania, news agency ANSA reports. About 500 trucks have been given police escorts. Business minister Adolfo Urso warned that blocking only lorries still counts as a road blockade, with possible prison terms. Reports have emerged of tyres being slashed to stop drivers leaving. Prefects have been told to watch for criminal infiltration. The crisis comes as Meloni’s government also faces . Last weekend more than 5,000 people gathered in Milan’s Piazza Duomo to protest against fuel prices, low wages, taxes and the state of schools and healthcare. Clashes with police followed, and a core of several hundred took part in the violence. Shops were looted, and smaller protests brought disorder in Turin and Bologna. Traders estimated damage in Milan at over €1 million. The unrest has been compared to protests over fuel and living costs in France. Photo credit: Riccardo Arata / Shutterstock.com