“Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager and Minister Raffaele Fitto had a constructive meeting in Brussels today,” the spokeswoman said.

“During the meeting the Italian authorities presented their plan to establish… [the zone].”

“Vice-President Vestager welcomed the Italian proposal, which should be drawn up in line with state aid rules,” she added.

On Thursday, European Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto met with the European Commissioner for Competition Vestager to illustrate the plans to unite Italy’s eight existing SEZs to create a single SEZ for southern Italy.

Fitto said he was “very satisfied” with the meeting.

“These measures are important tools for increasing the attractiveness and competitiveness of southern Italy by reducing the gaps with the rest of the country and the EU,” he said.

The regions proposed to be included in the zone are Puglia, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Campania, Molise, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia.

“... the single SEZ represents an important opportunity for development and attraction of investments, which together with the effective use of European and national resources, can make Southern Italy an important point of reference not only for our country but across the European continent," Fitto said.

“It is a real decisive driving force for the economy of the South, Italy and the Mediterranean, capable of marking a turning point for the relaunch also in terms of renewed centrality of the entire area.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, hailing the decision on Thursday, said economic development in southern regions must be achieved by creating opportunities for employment and growth.

“The development of the economy in southern Italy is a priority for our government,” she said.

“However, we are convinced that this goal must be achieved by abandoning the logic of welfarism, which does not work, and providing opportunities for work and growth and making these areas of the country competitive and attractive for investment and business,” she added.

“The single SEZ goes exactly in this direction and constitutes a step change for the economy of the South,” Meloni concluded.

ANSA