In the Emilia-Romagna region, which was scarred by the consequences of the catastrophic floods of the past week, the clean-up continues. There are still places, especially in the mountains, that cannot be reached by land, even if the water continues to recede. The work on the flat is a race against time, because the weather change from rain to sunshine has averted the acute risk of flooding, but the mud in houses, streets and cities threatens to form a solid mass in the sun, hard as Cement.
The hour of the politicians has now come in Rome. The cabinet of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met on Tuesday, after which the Prime Minister met the President of the Emilia-Romagna region, Stefano Bonaccini, and representatives of companies and trade unions. Meloni and Bonaccini appear to get along well, although she is the leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia and he is a leading figure in the more left-leaning social democratic PD, the main opposition party. Both are also certified in the country to have cut a good figure in the disaster situation, Meloni with an empathetic demeanor in the crisis region after she left the G-7 summit in Japan early, the regional president as the top crisis manager for the past few days.
It takes 200 million euros just to repair the provincial roads
The good cooperation cannot be taken for granted, because it would have made sense to use the catastrophe for a political dispute. In Emilia-Romagna there are traditionally left-wing majorities, while a right-wing government has been in power at the state level since autumn.
The extent of the damage caused by the extreme rainfall will only become clear gradually. Bonaccini has put it at up to ten billion euros, including all consequential costs due to production losses in industry and agriculture. The government still has no real idea where to get this money from. Therefore, an application to the European Union is likely to get money from the European Solidarity Fund and maybe other programs, as was the case with the great earthquake eleven years ago in Emilia-Romagna: At that time there were 670 million from Brussels , the damage costs were estimated at twelve billion euros.
Visit to those hit by mud and floods: Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Faenza. She returned early from the G-7 summit to travel to Emilia-Romagna.
(Photo: Press Office Palazzo Chigi/AFP)
The first emergency aid has a smaller scope. Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida said his ministry “sought all available resources and found funds of at least 100 million euros to deal with these situations. However, very different sums are needed.” The provinces alone demanded 200 million euros in emergency aid for the provincial roads, reported Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini: “We will try to do everything possible.” The plan to generate proceeds from additional lotteries and the sale of confiscated cars from organized crime shows how detailed the search for money is.
Taxes and duties are suspended until the end of summer
Meloni then spoke in the joint press conference with Bonaccini of more than two billion euros to go to the areas affected by the floods. “In the current situation that Italy is in, it is not easy to raise two billion euros in a few days,” said the Prime Minister. In the affected areas, payments of tax and social security contributions will be suspended until the end of August, as well as private mortgages – thousands have been made homeless by the floods. Companies that are unable to produce as a result of the weather catastrophe will be paid a kind of short-time work allowance, and the self-employed will receive a one-time payment of up to 3,000 euros. An Extraordinary Commissioner for Reconstruction will also be appointed.
As is now gradually becoming clear, cultural assets were also damaged during the flood disaster. According to agency reports, the gardens of the Villa Spada in Bologna and the medieval museum in the city are affected. In Cesena, water has leaked into a more than 550-year-old library, sources say, while there have been cave-ins at a nearby Benedictine monastery. In Bagnacavallo, to the north, frescoes in the Municipal Museum of the Capuchin Sisters were damaged. The Italian Ministry of Culture is currently receiving damage reports from the disaster region. “As soon as we have an initial overview of the damage, we will implement an action plan,” said Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano. He announced a surcharge of one euro on the entrance fee for state museums in the country, with the money then going to Emilia-Romagna.