Green light from the Senate - unanimously, with 223 votes in favor - to the constitutional bill, by popular initiative, for the modification of article 119 of the Constitution, on the recognition of the serious and permanent natural disadvantage deriving from insularity.
By voting in favor of the text proposed by the Constitutional Affairs Commission which reads "the Republic recognizes the peculiarities of the islands and promotes the measures necessary to remove the disadvantages deriving from insularity", the popular law proposal that has collected over 200 thousand signatures inside and outside the borders of Sardinia begins its parliamentary process with a green light which, for the promoters, has an extraordinary value. It is "a historic moment", explain the Sardinian senators who have supported the initiative and who have spent in recent months to reach today's result, echoed, in unison, by the commissioners of the Special Commission for Insularity .
This is the first resolution of Palazzo Madama, which will allow the bill to continue its journey in the Chamber and then, after at least three months, to return to the two branches of Parliament for a second approval.
The particular process because it is a bill that modifies article 119 of the Constitution, in the text of which the principle of insularity will be inserted with the recognition of the "serious and permanent natural disadvantage" of the island.
Born from a popular initiative, the text was modified during the first reading in the Senate's Constitutional Affairs Committee. The measure effectively reintroduces the theme of equal opportunities for the islanders, which already existed in the 1948 Charter, but which was canceled with the Reform of Title V in 2001.
SOLINAS: “THE BATTLE CONTINUES” - An “important” moment for Sardinia, as the President of the Region Christian Solinas defines it, “which sees the goal getting closer and closer”. "Our battle - he continues - must continue, not only in the national Parliament but also in Brussels: we need a revision of European legislation to make it more responsive to the challenges of our territories that unforeseen crisis situations, such as the current one, make even more critical ".
"A result made possible by the unanimous consensus gathered by the proposal, with the decisive commitment of the majority that governs the Region. Now - continues the governor -, the parliamentary process must be accelerated to reach the goal in a short time. Sardinia needs to see recognized, and to mitigate, the disadvantages due to its geographical condition, and to have equal opportunities for development and access to the international market without more handicaps than other Italian and European Regions. Insularity and periphery produce an increase in costs and create delays and weaknesses in the development process. We do not seek the obtaining of privileges, but the recognition of rights to guarantee our fellow citizens and our companies equal development opportunities ".
THE REACTIONS - "Today is an extraordinary day for Sardinia and for the Sardinians. We finally have before us the possibility of reversing the course and restoring dignity to Sardinia and all Sardinians", explains the president of the Regional Commission Michele Cossa . “An even more delicate phase begins than the one that brought us this far - continues Cossa - which began in 2017 with the late Roberto Frongia and is full of enthusiasm and determination in every step. From this moment on, we have the responsibility to go all the way so that no young Sardinian can no longer feel insularity as a brake on their will to do, undertake, create but, on the contrary, can draw from this condition the strength to grow and make grow our Island "." This battle - adds Cossa - had great merit: it managed to compact politics without distinction of color, it united the world of culture, sport, associations, academia around the same goal , volunteering and all civil society in all its forms. Today we can toast to Sardinia by imagining a different future. Let's not waste this opportunity ".
“We are moving towards the recognition of a sacrosanct right of the Sardinians that has been denied for too long. A victory for Sardinia, the Regional Council, the Insularity Commission and President Solinas who also recently closed with the State, in this direction, a historic agreement that sees the recognition of important resources in favor of Sardinia, also compensating for the resulting disadvantages. dall'insularità ", the comment of the president of the Regional Council of Sardinia, Michele Pais .
"We are facing a measure long awaited by a considerable part of citizens, those who live in the large as well as in the small islands of our country", the comment of the senator of the Democratic Party, Gianni Marilotti . "The European Union has continued to pretending nothing and not recognizing the right to rebalance the regions that it defines as disadvantaged Sardinia does not expect favorable conditions but rebalancing, the island entrepreneurs are not asking for more money, but facilitations and conditions that allow them to stay in the market. I realize that the reintegration of the principle of insularity into the Constitution does not solve the problems with a stroke of a magic wand. However, it gives greater weight to the struggles of the island regions to negotiate, through an operational table that sees the Government, Regions and the European Union concretely tackle the problem and take the necessary measures to achieve true cohesion between all territories ".
"The inclusion of the principle of insularity in the Constitution, in the text approved in the commission, is a fundamental step", the words in the classroom of the senator of Forza Italia, Emilio Floris . "There are finally the conditions for the citizens of Sardinia, of the Sicily, of all the smaller islands have the same starting potential as the rest of the Italian citizens ". “I hope - continues Floris - that President Draghi, who enjoys great trust and esteem in Europe due to his authority, will be able to obtain more for the islands than has been achieved so far by other governments”.
"We ask Parliament to make an extraordinary effort: what happened today in the Senate be easily replicated in all the other steps provided for by the law". Thus the deputies dem Andrea Frailis , Gavino Manca , Romina Mura and Andrea Casu . "Sardinia is finally beginning to see its peculiarity recognized".
THE LAW PROPOSAL - Being an island, is the reasoning behind the bill, involves enormous additional costs that must be compensated in the name of national cohesion, with the aim of making the starting points of all Italian citizens equal . A specific study on the problem, carried out by the Bruno Leoni Institute, quantified the cost of insularity for Sardinia at about 5,700 euros per capita: about 9 billion euros a year (compared to a GDP of the region of about 20 billion EUR). Hence Sardinia's request to Parliament: to eliminate the current structural disadvantages linked to insularity and that Sardinians are therefore allowed to compete with equal starting points with all other Italian citizens.
(Unioneonline / vl)
