Italy’s industrial sector is urgently calling on the government to tackle soaring energy costs that are stifling competitiveness, according to Emanuele Orsini, president of Italy’s business lobby Confindustria.

“Our companies continue to incur energy costs that are more than 35% higher than the European average, and even 80% compared to some major industrialized European nations,” Orsini said at Confindustria’s annual meeting on Tuesday.

High energy prices have pushed Italy and other major Western European economies like Germany, France, and Spain into a challenging position.

Eastern and southeastern European countries have suffered even more, facing energy costs well above those in Western Europe.“The surge in energy costs is weighing heavily on Italy’s industrial competitiveness,” Orsini added.

European industries are also grappling with U.S. tariffs, further threatening their survival after years of dealing with volatile energy prices that can be up to five times higher than those in the U.S. and China.To ease the burden, Italian businesses are urging the government to decouple gas prices from electricity tariffs and to revive nuclear power generation.

Earlier this year, Italy approved drafting laws to restart nuclear energy with new-generation Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), reversing decades of anti-nuclear sentiment.

Italy phased out nuclear power after the 1987 referendum, but current Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government sees nuclear energy as a key part of decarbonizing industry and lowering costs.

As Orsini emphasized, “Without urgent government intervention, Italian industry risks losing ground in the global market.”