Italy has continued the structural reforms and fiscal consolidation undertaken since 2011 to put the economy on a sustainable growth path based on sound macroeconomic fundamentals. Labour productivity has stagnated in Italy since 2005. The economic recovery will depend notably on the effectiveness of public initiatives to stimulate productivity and private demand and to facilitate the availability of bank credit. The government’s decree law Sblocca Italia (September 2014) introduced a series of provisions aimed at supporting the national productive sector and boosting competitiveness. The major actions funded through the decree law include: 1) strategic infrastructures, railway and highway networks; 2) new social security benefits/provisions; 3) the internationalisation of enterprises; 4) interventions against hydrogeological instability and for enhancing water infrastructures; 5) a more efficient exploitation of national oil and gas resources; 6) the renovation of buildings; and 7) energy recovery from waste. Top STI policy priorities also include an increase in public investment, the relaunch of the industrial system, reducing unemployment, and reform of education and research.