From the pact for Naples to funds destined for large cities and territories. With a very careful eye to bridge the gaps between North and South. Prime Minister Mario Draghi speaks from Naples on the PNRR which he defines as “a historic opportunity” and stressing that now “we need a qualitative leap in spending management”.
The Pact for Naples
Approximately 1.2 billion euro non-repayable grant from the State to the Municipality of Naples between 2022 and 2042. It is the “Pact for Naples”, an agreement between the State and the Municipality to cover the deficit and to relaunch investments, injection of money in the municipal coffers as part of the distribution of funds destined for the capital municipalities of the metropolitan cities of Naples, Turin, Reggio Calabria and Palermo. To sign the pact, in the Sala dei Baroni of the Maschio Angioino, are the Prime Minister Mario Draghi, on his first official visit to the city since he was premier, and the mayor Gaetano Manfredi. With the signing of the “Pact”, the Municipality of Naples undertakes to ensure the improvement of the collection, the assignment of the compulsory collection to specialized companies, the increase of the additional personal income tax by 0.1% from 2023 and an additional 0, 1% from 2024, the introduction of an airport boarding tax from 2023, the enhancement and alienation of public assets, the reduction of rent payable and the rationalization of subsidiaries.
“The signing of the pact for Naples” marks “a turning point in the financial relations between the State and local authorities”. Undersecretary Roberto Garofoli said this during the presentation of the Pact for Naples. “When you think of Naples and the South – he adds – you think of the many difficulties faced by citizens and businesses and of a two-speed Italy”, yet “there is no lack of potential”. The logic of the pact “is not dissimilar” from that of the NRP. “Naples will receive a total contribution of 1 billion and 231 million, shortly Turin, Palermo and Reggio Calabria”. The “will is to intervene on unresolved points”, concludes Garofoli.
Bridging the North / South gap
«We must admit the existence of a” southern question “, but at the same time we must avoid that it is reduced to sterile demands. We must face it with urgency, determination, unity. Because all of Italy needs Naples and the South to be an engine of the country “, underlined Draghi. Then the premier added: «The objective of the NRP is to bridge the territorial gaps, now unbearable. The per capita income of the South is in fact just over half of that of the Center-North and the unemployment rate is more than double. To restart the convergence process, which has been stopped for almost 50 years, we must overcome those obstacles – financial, institutional, cultural – that have held back Naples and the South in recent decades “, he added.