the front of those who no longer want it is growing – Corriere.it

The front of critics or, at least of skeptics, towards the Calderoli reform is widening. According to Brussels, differentiated autonomy risks increasing the complexity of the Italian fiscal framework. While for the unions the gap between the Regions would increase. A fear also shared by Svimez, who highlights how the differentiated autonomy outlined by the government exposes the entire country to the risks of a weakening of its competitive capacity due to the fragmentation of public policies. Even Confindustria, while deeming the principle of autonomy worthy of implementation, has expressed concerns. Starting from the request to leave the management of some strategic competences to the State, such as energy and transport infrastructures and foreign trade.

The requests of Confindustria

Without increasing the gaps between Regions and without distorting the decision-making prerogatives envisaged by the law, the reform can strengthen the territories in the wake of the principles of subsidiarity, efficiency and solidarity. The debate on autonomy can help improve the quality of public services at the local level, under the banner of accountability, provided it maintains constant coordination with those national policies oriented towards the growth and competitiveness of the production system, underlined the vice president of Confindustria Vito Grassi in hearing in the Constitutional Affairs Commission. The reform process, he warns, is grafted onto a series of constitutional and other gaps, the resolution of which is crucial for the eventual transfer of powers. For Confindustria, the determination of the Lep and the identification of the resources necessary to deal with them is a priority, but also the implementation of the principle of equalization in order to compensate for the imbalances suffered by the territories with lower fiscal capacity. Grassi explained that the industrialists’ association shares the fears of those who believe that the achievement of these objectives, in the absence of an additional allocation of resources, may not be taken for granted. Confindustria also warns against two risks, that the regions find themselves having to ensure essential services with insufficient resources, and that the recognition to some regions of particular forms and conditions of autonomy jeopardizes the possibility of attributing to the others the resources necessary to guarantee the Lep of their competence.

The stakes of Abi

The ABI also asks the government to intervene to correct the setting of the reform and in particular the possible implementation of the differentiated autonomy at the regional level in banking matters, which would be a vulnus to the prerogatives and competences of the State in the regulation of credit activity . This can be read in the document approved by the association’s board, presented at Palazzo Chigi. In the document, the ABI states not to take sides in political and electoral moments, in the name of the independence of the banks from politics but that the competences are national or EU.

Svimez: We risk a weakening of our competitive ability

The differentiated autonomy outlined by the government exposes the entire country to the risk of a weakening of its competitive capacity due to the fragmentation of public policies. In essence, a scenario of growing “speciality” of the regions with ordinary statute is outlined with the consequent impossibility of defining coordinated policies for the growth and strengthening of the business system, highlighted the director of Svimez, Luca Bianchi, on Thursday 25 May, speaking before to the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Senate. With specific reference to the Southern Regions, this picture of fragmentation is compounded by the risks of a “freeze” of the already existing per capita expenditure gaps and a weakening of national policies aimed at removing the infrastructural and service supply gaps, he added. According to Bianchi, one of the main critical elements of the Calderoli reform concerns the failure to identify criteria for accessing differentiated regionalism to be verified on the basis of accurate and adequately documented analyzes and evaluations. The decision on which functions to decentralize is left to political mediation. Government and Region, following a negotiation, find an agreement on the matters subject to devolution without the Parliament being able to intervene on the merits, underlines the director of Svimez.

observations from Brussels

The doubts of the EU Commission, on the other hand, concern the possible effects of autonomy on public finances. The law requires that this reform be budget-neutral. However, without additional resources, it could prove difficult to provide the same essential levels of services in historically low-spending regions, also due to the lack of an equalization mechanism. Overall, the reform envisaged by the new framework law risks jeopardizing the government’s ability to direct public spending, observes Brussels. We do not enter into debates. Certainly, from experience, we look from the side of public finance, which may be of interest in Brussels, to how the different systems of balance between regions and autonomies can affect. Belgium for example, a country in which this dynamic is important. But the Commission’s intention is not to give report cards to issues under discussion in Italian politics, specified the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Paolo Gentiloni, answering a question in the press point on the sidelines of the presentation of the spring economic recommendations.

CGIL: The last thing you need to widen the imbalances

The criticism of the unions, in particular of the CGIL, however, focuses on the risk that a greater autonomy of the regions will increase the imbalances between the territories. We express strong concern and clear opposition, especially to the political leadership, in a country that suffers from a growing gap in inequality. Especially with the regionalization of schools there is a risk of a mortal blow to the unity and cultural identity of the country, said Christian Ferrari, confederal secretary of the CGIL, speaking at the hearing before the Constitutional Affairs Commission of the Senate. In a country suffering from a dramatic and growing level of social inequalities and territorial gaps, the last thing that is needed is to further widen these imbalances, added Ferrari. Our concern is that if, as requested by Lombardy and Veneto, the other Regions also demanded the exclusive transfer of all twenty-three subjects, there would be very little left of national unity. The CISL is more cautious, according to which the transfer of functions must in no way unbalance the provision of essential services and compromise social cohesion and the unity of the country, but rather strengthen it.

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