Lorry drivers’ protest; Council of Ministers gives the go-ahead to the aid decree: 105 million for diesel

The decree allocates 60 million for the cost of agricultural fuel. “The funds will be made available very shortly via Agea,” said the Minister for Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida. The 60 million is intended to “guarantee the purchase of 121 million litres, with a subsidy of up to 45 cents,” he added. “Following an initial measure covering the first part of the year, this one covers the period up to 15 October, providing relief to farms that have purchased agricultural fuel.”

The lorry drivers belonging to the Association of Sicilian Hauliers, who were still blocking the motorway at various points along the Messina–Catania motorway, outside the port of Palermo and on other roads in Sicily, have in fact decided to suspend their protest. The same is true in Calabria (though the farmers’ picket lines remain in place).

Meanwhile, the mayors of Naples and Bari are sounding the alarm: ‘Cities at risk of paralysis’.

The situation therefore remains complicated. Reggio Calabria Airport will be without fuel until 24 October. Some roadblocks have been removed, but disruption continues along the motorway network in Campania due to protests by lorry drivers against high fuel prices. Following the closure of the Nocera-Pagani toll booth, along the Caserta–Salerno (A30) motorway, the Nola junction is reported to be closed to both entry and exit traffic from both directions, and the Palma Campania junction is closed to exit traffic from both directions.

The Naples Public Prosecutor’s Office has ordered investigative enquiries to ascertain whether organised crime has played a role in the lorry drivers’ protest against high fuel prices, which is causing enormous disruption in Campania. These are preliminary investigations, the outcome of which will determine whether a formal case is opened. There have been several incidents in which lorry drivers have reported being subjected to pressure and, on some occasions, even threats from people with their faces covered. Some drivers have reported that their lorries’ tyres had been slashed.

The government is taking a hard line with identity checks and criminal charges. The Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, has written to prefects and police chiefs, asking them to be vigilant against criminal infiltration. “If there is any criminal infiltration amongst the many law-abiding workers who are rightly protesting – and whom we are listening to and whose problems we are resolving – we will take action to maintain public order,” said Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini at the prefecture in Milan. “Because roadblocks that cause harm to other workers are a criminal offence and will therefore be treated as such,” added Salvini.

Confindustria president Emanuele Orsini warns: the problems caused by the road haulage strike ‘are spreading northwards and reaching Lazio, so they are not confined to the South alone; even though we are in Europe, I believe it is truly short-sighted to talk about differences between the North and the South’.

‘As regards Mafia infiltration of the lorry drivers’ protests, I would say there is a strong likelihood of manipulation and infiltration, precisely for the reasons we have just mentioned. A distinguished public prosecutor, speaking on the subject of the referendum, had said that the Camorra would vote ‘Yes’, but the ‘No’ vote won, which means that the Camorra and organised crime do not control anything at all. However, it is highly likely that they are present, capable of infiltrating the movement, and exploiting this situation.” So said the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, on Sky Tg24.

On Wednesday 21 October, a meeting took place at Palazzo Chigi with Meloni: the Ministry of the Interior will ensure supplies of essential goods, the police are ready to escort anyone who requests it, and there are already 500 lorries in Naples and the surrounding province.

Meanwhile, the Strike Guarantee Commission has expressed ‘grave concern’ over the widespread roadblocks linked to the lorry drivers’ protest, which are being carried out in breach of sector regulations and are seriously disrupting the supply of essential goods. ‘The continuation of such actions, in breach of the rules and limits laid down by the Self-Regulatory Code, constitutes a serious and imminent danger to citizens’ constitutional rights, threatening health, safety and freedom of movement,’ reads the Commission’s statement. ‘In order to prevent irreparable harm to the community’, the Commission is monitoring developments with the utmost attention so as to ‘promptly take the decisions within its remit, aimed at ensuring the immediate resumption of deliveries and restoring vital supplies and services to towns and cities’.

At the same time, the government is finalising a decree to bring together measures relating to road haulage and resources for agriculture: it will be enacted in Council of Ministers meeting convened for today, Thursday 22 October, at 12 noon. This involves 110 million for diesel refunds, “but the measure could also include other provisions such as a five-month suspension of leasing instalments, the fuel surcharge that spreads the costs across the supply chain, and safeguard clauses for verbal contracts”, explained Deputy Minister Rixi as he left Palazzo Chigi late in the evening. The opposition is on the offensive: ‘The Prime Minister must report to the Chamber.’

As early as tonight, most of the picket lines at the main road junctions in Calabria have been lifted following the suspension of the strike called by Fedralog. ‘A difficult but carefully considered decision,’ reads a statement from the Regional Logistics Federation, ‘taken with a deep sense of responsibility towards the community, businesses, citizens and the protection of national security. We have decided to suspend the strike to show our confidence in the government and the ministry. We are confident that the meeting on the 27th with Minister Salvini will finally yield the concrete and long-awaited solutions. In the absence of adequate responses, we will organise a march to Rome by any means necessary.”

Farmers, however, are calling for the Falerna (Catanzaro) junctions to remain blockaded. “The protests organised by the Movimento Territorio e Agricoltura are continuing, despite the still-unclear lifting of the blockade by Fedralog,” wrote Matteo Talarico, leader of the Movement, on social media, as he continues to rally farmers and others. “We invite disillusioned hauliers, businesses and the general public,” he continued, “to come and join us at our peaceful protest sites in Falerna, Castrovillari, San Marco Argentano, Spezzano Albanese and the new sites ready to open! Full steam ahead!” Following the hauliers’ decision to call off the blockades and the wait to see what will happen in the talks with the Government, anticipation is growing in supermarkets across Calabrian towns to see the shelves restocked with fresh food. The same goes for many petrol stations which have run out of fuel in recent days.” 

The suspension of the lorry drivers’ protest, decided by Fedralog in Calabria, has allowed food deliveries to shops and supermarkets to resume. Today, fresh fruit and vegetables have reappeared on the shelves of most shops, from the north to the south of the region. Deliveries are still patchy, but are returning to normal. In addition to fresh produce, distribution now covers all foodstuffs more generally. Supplies have also resumed via tankers to petrol stations across the region, many of which, until yesterday, had run out of petrol and diesel.

The Anti-Mafia Committee has launched an investigation into possible infiltration by organised crime into the agricultural sector protests in Calabria. The chair of the parliamentary body, FdI MP Chiara Colosimo, has reportedly responded favourably to a request from a party colleague, Senator Marco Silvestroni, who on 13 October called for an investigation into the findings of press reports concerning the protests in Pizzo, Crotone, Lamezia Terme and Rosarno, asking that, ‘where concrete evidence emerges, the Committee should consider launching the necessary investigations and exercising the investigative powers falling within its institutional remit’. Three days ago, it is understood, Colosimo replied to the senator, explaining that ‘initial checks carried out – following the numerous reports received by the Commission – have revealed significant corroborating evidence and further circumstances that certainly appear to warrant specific further investigation’, in order to ‘reconstruct the dynamics underlying the presence of individuals or interests linked to organised crime and attempts to influence the protest movements’. In her letter, the chair of the Anti-Mafia Commission assures that ‘the matter will therefore be followed with due attention’, including to ‘assess the appropriate investigative measures’.

They are giving away wheat, bread, oil and pomegranates, ‘but without throwing anything away or making a mess’. These are the Sicilian farmers who took to the streets this morning outside the Palazzo dei Normanni, the seat of the Sicilian Parliament, to protest against high fuel prices. “The initial idea was to throw our produce on the ground,” says Franco Calderone, president of Agrisat, “but there’s the hard work of us farmers behind it, so we’re giving it away to the public. The 50 million earmarked for agriculture will arrive in a couple of years; the farmers’ problem is today. If the cost of diesel doesn’t fall immediately, it will be impossible to go and work the fields.” This is what needs to find its way back onto consumers’ tables.”

“There are no disruption to services in pharmacies today; stocks are available, and the main wholesalers are well-stocked, even though they are not receiving their usual supplies. However, there could be supply problems tomorrow due to fuel shortages.” This was stated by Vincenzo Santagada, Regional Councillor for Health and President of the Naples Order of Pharmacists, regarding the potential shortage of medicines caused by the lorry drivers’ protests.

Following the end of the lorry drivers’ protest, Basilicata is returning to normality. In particular, after a few difficult days, almost all the supermarkets in the region were restocked with fruit, vegetables and meat this morning. Following the lifting yesterday of the main roadblock on the Jonica state road, in the Metapontino area on the border with Calabria and Puglia, some lorry drivers remain stationary in Tursi (Matera), near the junction for the ‘Sinnica’, but this is not causing any traffic disruption.

The price of diesel is rising, reaching 2.3 euros on the motorway. According to the latest figures from the Mimit Fuel Price Observatory, the average price of self-service fuel across the national road network stands at 2.024 euros per litre for petrol (a slight fall from yesterday’s 2.026 euros) and 2.260 euros for diesel (compared with 2.259 yesterday). On the motorway network, however, the average self-service price is 2.047 euros for petrol (a slight increase from yesterday’s 2.045) and 2.300 euros for diesel (up from yesterday’s 2.294).