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NederlandsItaly: after meeting with Salvini, diesel protest ends in Calabria and Sicily, but continues in Campania and Puglia
Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini met transport associations on 20 October in Milan. The outcome: the protest ended in Calabria (as already planned) and the strike was revoked in Sicily — but pickets continue in Campania and Puglia, with one organiser admitting the protest could run until 27 October without a written agreement. Sources disagree on the exact amount of funds unblocked.
The protest that had spread to six southern regions reached its first concrete outcome on 20 October, with a meeting in Milan between Infrastructure and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini and the hauliers’ associations. The result is uneven: two regions ended their protest, two continue.
What has ended
- Calabria — the period the region had confirmed from the start, 16-20 October, ended on schedule. No new blockades announced so far.
- Sicily — the Comitato Trasportatori Siciliani announced the revocation of the strike after the meeting with Salvini, but its coordinator made clear the decision is “not a blank cheque”: companies remain in a state of agitation until the outstanding issues are resolved.
What continues
In Campania and Puglia, pickets remain at tolls and road junctions — including the points already identified on the A1 and A30 in Campania — despite the meeting with the government. According to Quifinanza, organisers admit keeping the protest going until 27 October if there is no written agreement; this date is not, however, confirmed as a general extension nor backed by every association involved.
The meeting’s figures, according to different sources
Sources disagree on the exact amount of aid unblocked:
- Deputy Minister Edoardo Rixi speaks of releasing one billion euros.
- Another account puts the new funds, via decree, at around 160 million euros, within a total of 480 million already available.
- Hauliers had asked for about 534 million euros.
As of this report there is no single ministry statement reconciling these figures — this article records the discrepancy rather than picking a number.
For hauliers crossing southern Italy
- Calabria: no known restriction for now — the situation has normalised.
- Sicily: expect the possibility of a new one-off mobilisation, but no generalised blockade has been announced.
- Campania and Puglia: build in extra margin when passing the A1 (Caianello, Caserta Sud), the A30 (Nola, Nocera-Pagani) and Puglia’s road junctions until the negotiation’s outcome, now admitted for 27 October.