Ponte sullo Stretto, the government: we will respond to the findings of the Court of Auditors, the work will be done
Accounting judges have denied the legitimacy of the Cipess resolution on the bridge. The executive's objective of proceeding with the construction remains firm. The oppositions: stop.
Key points
- Salvini: no clash of powers on bridge, we will give information
- The Court of Auditors' stop
- Government exit strategy
- Contestations
- Sub iudice by the Court of Auditors another act on Strait Messina
- The government's first reactions
- Salvini: serious damage from Court of Auditors, let's move on
- Tajani: stunned about the bridge. The government will go ahead
- Ciucci: surprised by court, acted in full compliance
On the morning of Thursday, 30 October, a meeting was held at Palazzo Chigi between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, vice-presidents Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani, and undersecretaries Alfredo Mantovano and Giovanbattista Fazzolari, dedicated to the Strait Bridge project after the Court of Auditors' decision to halt the project. This was reported in a note from Palazzo Chigi, explaining that "at the end of the meeting, it was agreed to wait for the publication of the reasons for the decision adopted yesterday by the Court of Auditors. Only after examining the contents in detail," it explained, "will the government provide a detailed response to each finding, using all the tools provided by the law. The objective, fully shared by the entire executive, to proceed with the construction of the project remains firm.
Salvini: no clash of powers on bridge, we will give information
"Without any clash between the powers of the state, we will give all the information we are asked for. I have been working on it for three years, I will work on it for three years and two months, then the engineers tell me that with seven years Italy will have a work that is unique in the world and so it is fine," Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini said at the end of the meeting at Palazzo Chigi on the Strait Bridge. "It is a century that we have been talking about it, for me time is money, but I want to respect all the prescriptions, all the reflections," he added.
The stop of the Court of Auditors
On Wednesday, the accounting magistrates, at the end of a long Council Chamber, decided not to grant the legitimacy approval and registration of the August Cipess resolution that had approved the final project of the work. Technically, even with the negative opinion of the Court of Auditors, the government can still decide to go ahead with the project.
The government's exit strategy
In fact, when the control concerns a government act, according to the law, the administration concerned, in the event of a refusal to register by the Court of Auditors, may request a special deliberation by the Council of Ministers, which, in turn, may consider that the act responds to higher public interests and should nevertheless be carried out.
The objections
Among the various points under the magistrates' lens were the economic coverage, the reliability of traffic estimates, the conformity of the final project with environmental and anti-seismic regulations, and European rules on exceeding 50% of the initial cost. The exceptions raised during the meeting of the Court's Central Section, by councillor Carmela Mirabella, were various: among them was the competence of the CIPESS, considered a 'political' body.
