Pichetto Fratin: “The green directive on houses is too rigid. So we won’t ratify it”

More than the objective, it is the method that does not convince. Because for the Italian government, the green housing directive approved by the European Parliament is too rigid, it does not consider the repercussions of certain measures, which instead need to be re-discussed. All here lies the perplexity of Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, who does not question the horizon of 2050, “but we must proceed step by step“.

“The national states must evaluate the path to follow with respect to the real estate assets of each country”, explained the Minister of the Environment in an interview with the Corriere della Sera, in which he calls for a pragmatic approach to the matter. “It’s nice to cloak yourself in ideals, but in Italy we have about 31 million units. Of these, 15 million are subject to classification. Even if many are excluded because they are under 100 square meters, restricted or for other reasons, the houses to be brought to class F to 2030 they would still be around 5.1 million and those to be brought into class D by 2033 would amount to 11.1 million”.

A situation that is difficult to sustain according to the minister, who a few months ago, at the Energy Council in October, with regard to the negotiations set up by the Draghi government, had expressed a “favorable opinion” on the legislation. Then the discussion turned to more stringent parameters and conditions. “The Commission directive cannot be shared due to the peremptory constraints it imposes. Even less acceptable is the position approved by the European Parliament, which stiffens it even more, even placing individual constraints on properties“.

In short, the Italian government is ready to do battle in Brussels. Pichetto considers unacceptable, to date, a provision that he compares to “a hidden asset”. Without forgetting that “there could also be a devaluation relapse” and that the costs of the measures that the EU is asking to adopt are exorbitant. “If with the Superbonus, spending 110 billion, we managed to intervene on 360,000 properties, how much would it take to intervene by 2030 on almost 15 million real estate units? These would be astronomical figures that neither the State nor Italian families can afford”.

The ultimate goal, in any case, “is to make the country greener”, assures the head of the environment. “It is in the country’s interest to have better houses. But all this must be accompanied“. Yesterday’s was the first step towards the definitive approval of the directive. The text will now be discussed by the EU Council and the Commission, before returning to the plenary vote. A space in which Pichetto Fratin expects to assert his reasons.”Italy would find it difficult to ratify a directive of this kind“, the minister reiterated. “But I am a convinced pro-European and I am confident that an agreement will be found”.