Hvala svima koji su se nakon stanke za kavu vratili kako bi pratili diplomatski panel. Vrlo mi je drago što sudjelujem u ovoj raspravi. Egzistencijalni trokut hrane, energije i tehnologije, kako je nazvan na početku, doista je zanimljiv.

Vaše pitanje upućuje na velika previranja kroz koja prolazimo. Uz njih se odvija i proces deglobalizacije, što nas suočava s vrlo važnim izazovima.

Što se tiče Italije, naravno, nalazimo se u posve drukčijoj situaciji od one koju predstavlja moj kolega iz Azerbajdžana, koji sjedi s moje lijeve strane. Energetski smo ovisna zemlja, sa stopom ovisnosti od oko 74 %, koja se tijekom protekle godine smanjila zahvaljujući nekim poduzetim inicijativama. No stvarnost je takva kakva jest, premda Italija nastoji povećati domaću proizvodnju nafte i plina, koja je razmjerno mala.

U tom kontekstu obnovljivi izvori energije imaju važniju ulogu nego prije. Primjerice, prošlog travnja iz obnovljivih izvora pokriveno je 50 % potražnje za električnom energijom. Među njima najveći udio ima energija iz fotonaponskih sustava, čija je proizvodnja porasla za oko 40 %, što je vrlo važno i u kontekstu prehrambenog suvereniteta.

Kada govorimo o obnovljivim izvorima energije, svoju ulogu ima i vodik, među ostalim u okviru jačanja otpornosti i programa Europske unije. Imamo više od stotinu projekata, a jedan od njih uključuje i trostranu suradnju sa Slovenijom i Hrvatskom. Riječ je o projektu Dolina vodika Sjeverni Jadran, koji se nastoji ostvariti suradnjom svih uključenih dionika.

Dopustite mi da kažem nekoliko riječi i o geotermalnoj energiji, budući da je spomenuta na početku. Italija ima najduže iskustvo na svijetu u tom području. Prvo geotermalno postrojenje uspostavljeno je 1904. godine u Toskani i radi od tada, a Italija ostvaruje 10 % svjetske proizvodnje geotermalne energije. Stoga bi se i u okviru hrvatskih projekata geotermalne energije mogla razviti snažnija suradnja s talijanskim tvrtkama koje imaju dugogodišnje iskustvo u tom području.

Kada je riječ o regiji, kao što ste spomenuli, Italija se nalazi između Europe i Sredozemlja. Tu je vrlo važno ime Mattei, odnosno Matteijev plan, pokrenut posljednjih godina radi jačanja suradnje s 14 afričkih zemalja. Cilj je da Italija postane sredozemno energetsko čvorište za dopremu energije s juga u Italiju, a zatim i u druge zemlje.

Tako smo, uz postojeće cjevovode i druge veze, pokrenuli ELMED, projekt sredozemne elektroenergetske interkonekcije s Tunisom, koji bi trebao biti dovršen za nekoliko godina. Postoji i zajednički projekt Italije, Austrije i Njemačke s Alžirom i Tunisom.

U okviru Pakta za Sredozemlje Europske unije Europska komisija odobrila je T-MED, također usmjeren na povezivanje Italije i južne Europe s Afrikom i Bliskim istokom. Dakle, postoji niz projekata. Još jedan provodimo s Albanijom, uz sudjelovanje Ujedinjenih Arapskih Emirata, a uključuje i elektroenergetsko povezivanje Albanije s Italijom, odnosno s Apulijom, regijom na suprotnoj obali.

Sve je to usmjereno na smanjenje naše energetske ovisnosti i stvaranje poveznica koje mogu biti korisne našoj zemlji i Europi u cjelini. To su mjere koje poduzimamo kako bismo promijenili situaciju koju već dugo poznajemo. Kao što je rečeno u uvodnim izlaganjima, ne možemo više razmišljati kao da se sve može nastaviti po starom. Linearni model na koji smo bili navikli desetljećima iz brojnih razloga više ne vrijedi.

To su neki primjeri pokrenutih projekata: s jedne strane, onih u zemlji, kojima nastojimo bolje iskoristiti ono čime raspolažemo, a s druge strane, onih kojima širimo suradnju s Afrikom i Bliskim istokom te otvaramo nove pravce opskrbe energijom, koja je temelj našeg života. Dopustite mi da zaključim kako je Italija izrazito industrijalizirana zemlja, druga nakon Njemačke, pa su naše potrebe za energijom doista velike.

Hrana je drugi element ovog egzistencijalnog trokuta, dok je tehnologija pitanje koje prožima sve njegove elemente. Kada govorimo o hrani, zapravo mislimo na poljoprivredno-prehrambeni sektor, kako bi ga bilo preciznije nazvati. To je vrlo važan dio talijanskoga gospodarstva i čini 15 % našeg BDP-a.

Naša trgovinska razmjena uglavnom se odvija sa zemljama Europske unije. Na njih otpada 60 % našeg izvoza i 70 % našeg uvoza. U tom bi pogledu hrvatskoj javnosti moglo biti zanimljivo čuti da stojite vrlo dobro: vrijednost našeg izvoza poljoprivredno-prehrambenih proizvoda u Hrvatsku iznosi nešto manje od 700 milijuna eura, dok vaš poljoprivredni izvoz u Italiju iznosi 630 milijuna eura. Razmjena je, dakle, prilično uravnotežena. S tog gledišta ostvarujete vrlo dobre rezultate.

Kao što ste spomenuli, Italija ima najveći broj oznaka zemljopisnog podrijetla i kontroliranog podrijetla proizvoda — oko 900. S Hrvatskom dijelimo i mediteransku prehranu, koju je UNESCO priznao 2010. godine. U novije vrijeme UNESCO je priznao i talijansku kuhinju. Ta su priznanja važna i za još veću prepoznatljivost kvalitete naših proizvoda.

Ta kvaliteta, a isto bih mogao reći i za druge sektore, proizlazi iz onoga što nazivamo proizvodnim okruzima. To su područja s integriranom proizvodnjom čiji korijeni ponekad sežu stoljećima unatrag, čak do srednjeg vijeka. Imamo okruge specijalizirane za obuću ili, primjerice, za zlatarstvo, poput Arezza i Vicenze. Kada je riječ o hrani i integriranoj proizvodnji, rekao bih da je najbolji primjer Padska nizina, osobito područje Lombardije i Emilije.

U Italiji se nalazi 8 % poljoprivrednih površina Europske unije, a u tom sektoru posluje više od milijun aktivnih poduzeća. Njegova je važnost, dakle, velika. Kada govorimo o povezanosti s energetikom, nedavno je sklopljen sporazum između talijanske udruge za agrofotonapon i hrvatske udruge za obnovljive izvore energije o primjeni fotonaponskih sustava u poljoprivredi. To je još jedno područje u kojem surađujemo s Hrvatskom.

Postoje i zanimljivi projekti u okviru bilateralnog programa Interreg Italija – Hrvatska. Također bih želio spomenuti da je, uz sastanak na vrhu MED9, zbog kojeg smo prošlog tjedna bili u Splitu, održan i sastanak ministara poljoprivrede zemalja MED9. Sudjelovao je i naš ministar. Bila je to vrlo važna prilika za unaprjeđenje naše suradnje u ovom iznimno važnom području.

Biografija

Paolo Trichilo započeo je diplomatsku karijeru 1990. godine. Njegova prva dužnost bila je vezana uz Konferenciju o sigurnosti i suradnji u Europi (KSSE, kasnije OESS). Trenutačno obnaša dužnost veleposlanika Italije u Hrvatskoj.

Prethodno je bio veleposlanik u Sloveniji; u inozemstvu je također služio kao konzul u Mulhouseu, trgovinski savjetnik u Ankari, zamjenik šefa misije u New Delhiju te zamjenik stalnog predstavnika pri OECD-u u Parizu.

U Rimu je u Ministarstvu vanjskih poslova obnašao dužnosti vezane uz područje sigurnosti: zamjenik koordinatora za borbu protiv terorizma, član radne skupine za Irak te zamjenik voditelja kriznog stožera pri Glavnom tajništvu.

Također je bio diplomatski savjetnik ministra rada i socijalne politike, zamjenik glavnog direktora za resurse i inovacije te središnji direktor za ljudske potencijale.

Prije ulaska u diplomatsku službu bio je časnik (poručnik) u korpusu karabinjera te je radio na Sveučilištu LUISS u Rimu na Katedri za ljudska prava. Autor je nekoliko knjiga. Njegovi eseji i članci dostupni su na internetskoj stranici academia.edu.

Napomena: Prijevod izvornog engleskog, INTERENEF

𝗣𝗮𝗼𝗹𝗼 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗢, Ambassador of the Italian Republic to the Republic of Croatia

Talk at INTERNEF 13th October 2026

Thank you to all that came back from the coffee break to follow the diplomatic panel. I’m very happy to be part of this discussion. About the existential triangle between food, energy and technology, as it’s been called at the beginning: it’s quite an interesting one.

So, yes, your question points to the very important turbulence that we are going through, and in addition to the turbulence, we have this deglobalization that is taking place, so it pulls us to some very important challenges.

As far as Italy, of course, we are in a very different situation than my colleague to the left from Azerbaijan. We are a dependent energy country with a rate of dependence of about 74%, which has gone down in the last year thanks to some initiatives that have been taken. But, of course, the reality is where it is, even though Italy has been trying to increase the level of production, though small, of oil and gas that we have in the country.

And in this context, also, the renewable energies are playing a more important role than before. For instance, last April, 50% of electricity demand was met by renewable energies, and in particular, the photovoltaic is the largest among the renewables of energies, and it’s gone up about 40%, which is something also very important in the context of food sovereignty.

And also, in this context of renewable energies, hydrogen is playing some part of that, also in the context of the resilience and the program of the European Union. We have more than 100 projects in place, and one of those also is a triangular cooperation with Slovenia and Croatia, the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley, that is aiming to be put in action thanks to the cooperation between all the involved actors.

Let me also say one word, because it’s been mentioned at the beginning, about geothermal. Italy has the longest experience in the world. In 1904, it was the first geothermal plant in Tuscany, and it’s been working since then, and Italy has production of 10% world geothermal production. So maybe also, in considering Croatian projects about geothermal energy, there could be some larger cooperation with Italian companies that have a very long experience in this area.

Now, considering the region, as you have mentioned, of course, Italy is between Europe and Mediterranean. So, one very important name is Mattei, Mattei Plan, that has been launched in those years in order to create a stronger cooperation with 14 African countries, so that Italy can be a Mediterranean hub for energy from the south to Italy and then also to other countries.

So we have, for instance, one, in addition to the already existing pipelines and others, we have launched the ELMED, electricity Mediterranean interconnection of electricity with Tunisia, that in a couple of years should be in place. There is also one joint project between Italy, Austria and Germany, with Algeria and Tunisia.

Under the Pact of the Mediterranean of the European Union, the European Commission has approved the T-MED, also in connecting Italy and southern Europe with Africa and the Middle East. So, there are a number of projects. Another one is with Albania, that includes also United Arab Emirates, and also the electricity interconnection from Albania to Italy, to Puglia, the region just in front.

So, all of this is aiming to diminish our dependency rate, in a way, and create interconnection that could be useful for our country and for Europe at large. So, these are responses that are being put in place in order to rearrange the situation that we have long known, as it’s been said in the initial interventions, when, of course, we cannot continue to think business as usual, and the linear kind of mode that we have experienced for many decades is no longer there for so many reasons.

And so these are some examples about the projects that have been put in place, one domestically, to better use whatever we have in our hands, and on the other part also to enlarge our cooperation with Africa and Middle East, creating new avenues for energy that is the very basis for our own life. And let me conclude to say that, of course, it’s a very industrialized country, it’s the second one after Germany, so we really need a lot of energy.

Food is the second aspect of this existential triangle, and the technology is the overarching question over all of these. Well, indeed, food is agro-food sector, let’s call it that way better. It’s a very important part of the Italian economy. It’s 15% of our GDP.

And our trade is mainly with the European Union countries. It’s 60% that we are exporting to EU countries and 70% that we are importing. In that respect, I must say that maybe the Croatian public is interested to know that you are very well, because the value of our export to Croatian agro-food sector is a little bit less than 700 million euros, and your agricultural exports to Italy is 630. So, it’s pretty much levelled. So you’re doing fairly well from that point of view.

Well, indeed, Italy, as you mentioned, I could say that it has the highest number of geographical indication production labels, and as well as the controlled origin labels. It’s about 900. And indeed, also, this is something we have in common with Croatia: the Mediterranean diet, that was recognized in 2010 by UNESCO. And then, more recently, the Italian cuisine was also awarded by UNESCO as such. And these are also important to make even better known the quality of our production.

That stems, like I should say, also for other sectors, from what we call district. These areas where there is an integrated production from that sometimes even derive from centuries ago, even from the Middle Age. We have districts that can be for shoes or for, you know, gold, like Arezzo, Vicenza. And the Po Valley is the best one, I should say, for the food, the integrated production, especially between Lombardy and Emilia.

In this regard, we have 8% of the EU agricultural area, and we have more than 1 million active companies in this sector. So, it’s quite relevant. Also, in connection with energy, recently there’s been an agreement between the Italian agro-voltaic association with the Croatian Association for Renewable Energy, so about the application of photovoltaic production to the agriculture. So that is also another area where we are working together with Croatia.

There are also some interesting projects within Interreg, the bilateral one, Italy-Croatia. And I also would like to mention, as we were in the last week in Split for the MED9 Summit, there’s been also a MED9 agricultural meeting of ministers. Our minister came. It was a very important occasion to foster our cooperation in this very important area.

Paulo’s Biography

Paolo Trichilo is Ambassador of Italy to Croatia and previously served as Ambassador to Slovenia. He began his diplomatic career in 1990 with an assignment to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, later OSCE).

His overseas postings include Consul in Mulhouse, Commercial Counsellor in Ankara, Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi and Deputy Permanent Representative to the OECD in Paris.

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome, he served as Deputy Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, a member of the Iraq Task Force and Deputy Head of the Crisis Unit at the General Secretariat. He was also Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister of Labour and Social Policies, Deputy Director General for Resources and Innovation, and Central Director for Human Resources.

Before joining the diplomatic service, he was a Lieutenant in the Carabinieri Corps and worked at the Human Rights Chair at LUISS University in Rome. He is the author of several books; his essays and articles are available on Academia.edu.