On 2 March the Italian social partners signed a Common Opinion on transposition of the SE directive and they recommend that this opinion be taken into account when transposing the directive into law.

The document was accordingly sent to the Minister of Welfare with a request for action. The social partners also express the wish to be consulted on the government's next initiatives. At present the government has several options for the transposition of the directive into law. The most probable course of action would appear to be that used for the EWC directive, where a collective agreement became law by means of government decree. The three main trade union confederations CGIL, CISL and UIL reached an agreement on worker participation in the SE. They give precedence to the dual system, whereby employee representatives in the supervisory body will be appointed by the trade unions. If companies opt for a monistic board structure, the member of board representing employees can be an external expert who is able to represent employee interests while having the necessary skills and know-how to be an active board member.