The Court of Auditors has rejected the Strait of Messina Bridge project. After a lengthy deliberation, the accounting magistrates decided not to grant the necessary approval and registration of the CIPESS resolution approved in August, which gave the green light to the final project. "A political choice and a serious loss for the country," Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Matteo Salvini immediately commented, "but we will move forward."
"A great victory for the rule of law. Salvini must resign," urges Angelo Bonelli, leader of the AVS party, one of the main opponents of the project and threatening to appeal to the European Court of Justice if the project goes ahead. Technically, even with a negative opinion from the Court of Auditors, the government can still decide to move forward with the project . Indeed, it is explained, if the review concerns a government act, according to the law, the affected administration, in the event of a refusal to register the act by the Court of Auditors, can request a specific resolution from the Council of Ministers, which, in turn, may deem the act to be in a higher public interest and should proceed anyway. Among the various issues under scrutiny by the magistrates are financial coverage, the reliability of traffic estimates, the final project's compliance with environmental and anti-seismic regulations, and European rules on exceeding the initial cost by 50%.
According to reports, several objections were raised during the meeting of the Central Section of the Court by Councilor Carmela Mirabella, including the issue of the jurisdiction of CIPESS, considered a "political" body. Meanwhile, during a heated question time in the Chamber of Deputies, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini, explained that "the Court of Auditors has decided to submit the assessment to the Central Control Section," but "this decision does not change the November 7th deadline for the registration decision." He then emphasized that the work done on the project "has been serious, thorough, and transparent, in compliance with Italian and European standards; environmental regulations have been respected," and "the bridge will save time, money, and health." Therefore, "there has been no violation, no withdrawal of the CIPESS resolution," he stated.
