Paolo Uggè, president of Fai-Conftrasporto takes stock after the summer break in his usual column on the confcommercio website.
“It is certainly not my intention to put you in a bad mood, but the summer break is now almost over. We are therefore preparing to restore full operations, although in recent weeks, thanks to the commitment of our collaborators, the light in the FAI-Conftrasporto offices has not The federation has in fact been able to respond to anyone who has found themselves facing problems, given the many critical issues that characterize the period we are going through.
The solution to some problems, which we had undertaken to find, has arrived and some economic interventions, not of our direct competence, have been carried out. I certainly don’t want to sing a paean to the collaborators of our structure, who have never failed in their commitment, but to highlight how this attitude to work is the concrete demonstration of an evident sense of belonging. It would be important for this value to extend to all components of the federation.
Meanwhile, the recovery has made it clear to us how crucial the theme of the permeability of the Alpine arc, the functionality of the port and railway system is for our country. We must alas say that once again we had seen far? It wouldn’t help much. The only action to do is to make people and politics aware of how bad choices are prodromal of negative consequences.
I take up the refrain that I already started months ago. The European elections will be held next year and it is our duty to involve and raise awareness among our people as much as possible, reaffirming the value of participation.
I certainly do not intend to attribute merits to FAI-Conftrasporto, but I would like to recall the strong positions taken by our reality on environmental issues. Meanwhile, an important result – but I don’t intend to attribute it to our credit – is the resignation of the commissioner who was the inspirer and tutelary deity of the exasperated environmental policy of recent years. The environment must be protected and defended but not to the detriment of those who have worked so hard to give perspective to their business.
Naturally, the positions taken on the theme of crossing the Alps also fall within this framework. Here the reference to relations with Austria is quite evident. If someone wanted to remove the curiosity to get confirmations he could browse the books of the past to realize it. It will be possible to observe how and to what extent our Federation, on this aspect, has dedicated itself to protecting the interests of freedom of movement, a founding value of the European constitutive act.
For those eager to inquire, I want to remind you that the beginning of the battle, declassified by others as an act of political politics, began when the Amato government and Minister Bersani accepted the Alpine Convention and in particular the Transport Protocol. At the time, someone accused us of wanting to engage in politics; instead it was the awareness of what would be triggered. The risk of reducing the competitiveness of our goods, preventing them from reaching European markets. Today, due both to the inconclusive attitude of the national transport ministers and to the indifference of the Community authorities, we have reached the point. Unfortunately, in the worst possible way and in a dramatic situation, but everything was foreseeable and we had said so.
After so many talkative and inconclusive ministers, today thanks to the commitment of the current minister Salvini (who turned the matter around, involving the German minister) Austria’s position will be the subject of a compatibility check (it is absolutely not) by part of the European Commission, which should open infringement proceedings against the Austrian government. We will see with great attention. Today even more for the too obvious reason that, for other reasons of safety and maintenance, the goods transformed or produced in Italy struggle to reach the European markets.
This is a decisive battle for our economy and transport business. Rest assured that Fai will not take steps backwards. But we need to feel like a single body to be decisive. I stop here because other issues, although important, will be addressed soon. In the meantime, I wish you all a safe return, reminding you that ‘DO IS WHAT IT DOES’. We are here! Good work”