Bathing concessions, Pnrr update and approval of the Mes. These are the three challenges that Giorgia Meloni faces both in Europe and in Italy. Three hot dossiers to be unveiled in the coming months on which the solidity of the centre-right majority will be measured. Let’s start with the bath chapter. Forza Italia and Lega presented a joint amendment to the Milleproroghe decree to postpone the expiry of the power plant concessions scheduled for December 31 of this year.
The issue risks splitting the coalition, as the Brothers in Italy would be willing to stall pending dialogue with Brussels, which is instead pushing for a swift liberalization of licenses. It is no coincidence that yesterday Meloni’s party decided to backtrack on its own amendment, presented the day before by senator Lavinia Mennuni. “We have prepared a series of amendments” on the subject of seaside resorts “but we have now decided not to report ours, after the Government has communicated to us that a provision is in progress, we have had guarantees of what remains a priority issue – comments Mennuni – I have I am sure that the issue is a priority, but we have until Monday to decide what to do, but we were reassured by the government». The dossier will remain open for a few more months.
This is confirmed by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini: “The issue of seaside resorts is an issue that I hope will be closed positively once and for all in the summer with the OK of the associations, in relation to these 30,000 companies and families. I spoke with Giorgia Meloni and we have an idea that coincides, so I understand that this too, after years and years of waiting, is a dossier that the new government will close”.
Another warm front is represented by the Mes, the European Stability Mechanism. In recent days, the possibility that the government decides to ratify the treaty desired by Europe has begun to be registered. «The theme of the reform of the Month in my opinion is not the big theme – Meloni said in an episode of Porta a Porta – If we continue to be the only ones who do not approve, we will also block the others. Parliament will eventually discuss it.”
The premier, however, has always guaranteed that the Mes will never be activated, that is, it will never ask for the money that the fund makes available to the states. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, also points the way: “I think we will go in a positive direction in ratification, because we cannot block others. So we’ll have to see what to change, what works and what doesn’t and see if Italy will use it».
Unwanted words for a part of the majority. League senator Claudio Borghi was categorical: “We will never vote for the Month, we will not give 130 billion to Germany,” he said in an interview with La Stampa. Finally, there is the Pnrr knot to be untied, which in total brings 191.5 billion to our country, of which 68.9 in donations and the remaining 122.6 in loans. Meloni considers it necessary to change the Plan.
The government reached the 55 targets for the second half of 2022. Some of the new targets, however, are considered outdated, in a Europe that has changed profoundly compared to two years ago, when the Pnrr was conceived. At stake is the next installment of 18.4 billion that Brussels must release to finance 27 objectives (12 by March, the other 15 by June) to be achieved by June. The renegotiation with the EU is in charge of the Minister Raffaele Fitto who in the last few days explained: “The works are progressing positively with the European Commission and with all the administrations involved.
In the next few days we will present the report to Parliament on the state of the art and we will implement a series of measures in terms of acceleration, simplification and governance”. In fact, the most delicate phase now begins, that of “grounding” the works, as Meloni herself recalled a few weeks ago at the year-end conference. Many infrastructures are behind schedule, such as the Gronda di Genova, the new motorway north of the Ligurian capital. But the list is long.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
