ROME. «Mayors, you will be at the center of the season ahead: an extraordinary opportunity for reforms and investments, thanks to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The success of the Plan is in your hands, as it is in ours. You represent the unity of Italy in its magnificent diversity. A bond that resists the passage of time, thanks to your credibility as skilled administrators ». And he added: «There is a need for cooperation between all levels of administration, in the investment planning and implementation phases. This effort must involve everyone: Municipalities, Regions, Ministries ». Prime Minister Mario Draghi said this when closing the Anci assembly in Parma.
Draghi extended his hand to the president Anci Antonio Decaro (who said he called him “super Mario”) on a specific request that had come from the municipalities: “We make various tools available to administrations: from technical assistance in the area to the possibility of recruit staff and on this we will have to accept Decaro’s suggestion “(ie simplify procedures). “At least one thousand experts will help local authorities to implement the NRP. They will be distributed in the various areas of the country, to simplify the processes and strengthen the planning capacity of the administrations ». “Not all municipalities are equipped in the same way to face the challenge, and it is essential that this historic opportunity is also seized by the smaller towns.”
The prime minister also made a historic speech on the role of municipalities in Italy. “You mayors have been fundamental in the years of lead and terrorism. You have opposed dialogue and the defense of democracy to extremism and violence. Even today, you continue to be a garrison of legality. Because you know that, without respecting the law, the foundations of civil life are no longer valid ». He also recalled little-quoted figures: “I am thinking of Angelo Vassallo, the first citizen of Pòllica, brutally killed in 2010. His memory is a tribute to all the Mayors engaged daily in the fight against crime”.
The premier also provided some data: «A few months after the approval of the Plan by the European Commission, we are fully in its implementation phase. In the coming weeks, the government is planning a series of meetings in many Italian cities to discuss its implementation. We have already approved 159 urban regeneration projects in which we invest 2.8 billionthe. Well over 40% is destined for interventions in the South », announced the premier. “To redevelop public housing, make city districts more inclusive and improve the quality of housing, we have divided 2 billion between the Regions, which will now have to issue calls for municipalities. We have already started the strengthening of extra-urban transport, with 600 million that have been divided between the Regions to renew the bus fleet. We have allocated 700 million to regional managers to make railway stations in the South more functional and redevelop the areas in which they are located. Overall, 21.6 billion euros for infrastructure interventions have already been distributed among the local authorities ”.
«Today – observed the head of the government – a new phase is opening for Italy and its nearly eight thousand municipalities. An opportunity for development, planning, ideas, which we must be ready to seize for our citizens and for future generations “. Draghi then listed the measures of the budget law and recalling that “Municipalities and Metropolitan Cities will have to administer almost 50 billion euros as implementing bodies of the NRP. From the digital to the ecological transition; from investments in culture to public construction; from nurseries to support for the most vulnerable elderly; The future of Italy sees you today as protagonists ».
In detail, “in the budget law we allocate 1.4 billion until 2029 for the safety of bridges and viaducts and we increase the funds for the maintenance of schools by 2.7 billion until 2036. We allocate 2 billion euros until 2036. 2030 to allow Provinces and Metropolitan Cities to carry out their fundamental functions. We help small municipalities in particular economic difficulties. We set up a special fund to support and enhance mountain areas with an endowment of 200 million euros per year ».