Paolo Costa (born July 23, 1943 in Venice) is an Italian Member of the European Parliament. He was elected on the Olive Tree ticket and sits with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group. On July 23, 2004 he was elected Chair of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism.

Before entering politics he held numerous posts in Planning and Economics at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, University of Reading, U.K., and New York University . He served as Pro-Rector of Ca' Foscari University in Venice (1992-1996). He was a member of Venice City Council (1997-2000) and Mayor of Venice (2000-2005). He was Chairman of the Council of AISRE (Italian Association of Regional Science) (1982-1984); member of the Scientific Committee for the Italian General Transport Plan (1985-1987), and Italian Minister for Public Works (1996-1998).

He received the honour of Knight of the Grand Cross, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1988