It was necessary to paralyze entire regions for a week, with roads blocked and goods stopped, before the Government reached an agreement with the hauliers and put concrete resources on the table against expensive diesel fuel.
After days of tensions, blockages and difficulties in deliveries, the agreement between the executive and the road haulage associations has arrived, accompanied by a decree law approved today 22 October by the Council of Ministers.
This was announced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who in a video message illustrates the interventions that would have been agreed through the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini.
At the heart of the agreement are an additional 106 million euros for the fuel tax credit, the release of arrears and new provisions to ease the financial difficulties of companies. In addition, 60 million euros arrive for agricultural diesel and 10 million for fishing.
A response to the economic emergency, therefore, which – according to the prime minister – would aim to guarantee liquidity to companies and restore the circulation of goods. However, without addressing, at least at this stage, the structural problem: how much can dependence on diesel continue to cost the Italian production system?
Diesel tax credit, what the agreement provides
The main measure concerns the tax credit granted to road haulage companies to compensate for the increase in the price of diesel fuel. According to what was declared by Meloni, the Ministry of Transport has already started payments for the period March-August 2026, while companies should receive the advances in the next few days.
The novelty mainly concerns the procedures: the checks will be carried out after disbursement, to prevent administrative checks from further slowing down the arrival of the resources.
The Government also announced an additional 106 million euros compared to the 434 million already allocated in previous months, bringing the total resources indicated by the Prime Minister for fuel support to around 540 million euros. The refinancing will also serve to cover the increases in September and October 2026. Companies will then have until 31 March 2027 to use the tax credits, exceeding the previous end-of-year deadline.
An intervention requested by trade associations, which already on 8 October had denounced bureaucratic delays and uncertainties in accessing benefits, asking to transform economic commitments into actual payments.
Truck leasing and sea transport: the other measures
The agreement does not only concern diesel. Among the interventions announced there is also the possibility of postponing the payment of leasing fees for vehicles used by road haulage companies, with a suspension expected until 31 March 2027.
Another measure concerns less protected transport contracts, for which the mechanism for adjusting fees to the cost of fuel is strengthened. The objective is to prevent diesel increases from falling entirely on transporters, especially when they do not have sufficient bargaining power with clients.
For sea transport, however, the Government has announced the release from November of the arrears relating to incentives for maritime services.
Sources: Italian Government Presidency of the Council of Ministers / FAI
