The Region is challenging the law on "critical raw materials of strategic interest" before the Constitutional Court. And it's a clash with the Government.
The subject of dispute, it must be said, is everything found inside the island's mines and granite quarries, with its methods of exploitation. Lithium, strontium, arsenic, tungsten: rare metals and components, on which appetites have been ignited. The State, with the DDL converted into law on 30 April, declared the "preeminent national interest in the supply" of those materials, thus canceling the primary competence of the Region over quarries and mines, sanctioned by the Statute: a provision of constitutional rank that cannot be amended with ordinary law. Not only that: Rome has also decided to manage the environmental procedures, cutting Sardinia out of any decision.
«The Region, through its councilor for the environment Rosanna Laconi and in mutual agreement with me and the councilor for industry Emanuele Cani», explains the president Alessandra Todde, «has expressed a strongly contrary opinion - in her role as coordinator of the Environment, Energy and Sustainability Commission (Caes) - to the setting up of the new regulatory system at the State-Regions Conference"
The reason for the dissent "arises from the failure to accept a series of our amendments which aimed to make the opinion of the Regions binding in the authorization procedure, and to make the agreement of the Regions mandatory for the approval of the National Plan for Critical Raw Materials".
Despite Sardinia's opposition, «the decree obtained the favorable opinion of the majority of the other Regions and subsequently definitive approval from the Chamber. Our Region has fought the battle alone in an attempt to get the other Regions to converge on the need to amend the text of the Legislative Decree, unfortunately without success".
According to the governor «the government, by improperly using a decree-law, provides a regulation that is harmful not only to our Statute and our exclusive competences regarding the exploitation of quarries and mines, but above all undermines the possibility for us Sardinians to protect the environment and landscape . In fact, the government wants to exclude such interventions from the environmental impact assessment that our Region should be able to carry out when it comes to its own territory. A recurring attitude in recent times, dangerous and careless of the impacts that such provisions would have on Sardinia."
Hence the decision to appeal before the Council.
Enrico Fresu