Damages for billions and on the horizon a reconstruction not different from that of the earthquake that devastated Emilia in 2012, also in May. “And as for the earthquake, we will rebuild everything: we told the government that we need many resources, but also expeditious regulations, there is a need for an extraordinary commissioner, obligations for workers, to extend deadlines, mortgage installments, many investments” , said the president of Emilia-Romagna Stefano Bonaccini, grappling with the management of the disaster after the flooding of 23 rivers from Bologna to the sea.
The Minister of the Environment, Gilberto Pichetto, was in Bologna to demonstrate the closeness of the Executive, he promised rapid activation and announced that on Tuesday the Council of Ministers will decide on the state of calamity for the areas affected by the flood and “we will respond to the first interventions: The freeze on mortgages and tax collections has already been announced”. In addition, the government, the minister said, will bring the issue of activating the European solidarity fund to the attention of the EU Commission.
The bottom. explained a Commission spokesman, “it is not a rapid response tool, but a post-disaster relief tool”. And Member States wishing to receive support must submit an application to the Commission within 12 weeks of the date of the first damage caused by the disaster. At that point the tool is activated as soon as the Member State has submitted the complete application, including an estimate of the damages and all the information necessary for the Commission to complete its assessment.
One theme is resources, another is timing and the streamlining of bureaucratic procedures, as underlined by the Governor of Liguria Giovanni Toti. To Matteo Renzi who asked Meloni to put the mission unity inspired by Renzo Piano back on its feet, Pichetto replied that the problem “is not so much the instrument” but that the main objective is “to give an immediate response, which it means superficial, lightly, but giving answers in a more punctual way compared to long procedures, linked to other times”. The appeal is to team up, because what happened in Emilia-Romagna “is a national issue”. And the Democratic Party has asked the Government for involvement “both in immediate safety measures, in refreshments and compensation, and in the restoration of mobility”, said the secretary Elly Schlein. “It is a moment – you said – in which a sense of unity and national cohesion is needed, we are available to collaborate”.
How much is the territory devastated by the floods worth, as recalled by the regional councilor for the economy, Vincenzo Colla: “An exceptional export asset for the country, there are strategic supply chains, that of fruit and vegetables, wine, frozen foods; that area makes about 10 billion in exports a year”. There is therefore talk of “a very important impact, but we lined up the needs already during a meeting at the Ministry of Civil Protection with all the competent ministers”. Colla reassures by saying that the Government is committed to working “quickly on the emergency decrees, on the decree allocating refreshments for reconstruction”. Particular attention will also be paid to fixed-term workers employed in the agricultural sector. “We have already told Minister Calderone. There are about 10,000 casual workers, the workers who had to do the season now, but the fields are no longer there, the productions are gone and if we don’t find a tool – he concluded – these workers they would have nothing left.”
Read the full article on ANSA.it