An allocation of €121 million for Belgium, Germany, Ireland, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia for climate and environment projects. The European Union does not fail to support national policies to combat climate change. Just as the new Ministry of Ecological Transition is being born in Italy, yesterday the go-ahead from Brussels for new resources arrived. However, governments will have to know how to manage their proposals. No delays are allowed, above all because the actions must be coordinated at the continental level.
The interest in moving things around in individual countries, however, cannot be linked only to economic availability. Although important, what the European Commission expects is the speed and effectiveness of the interventions. The Commission's reasoning does not exclude the connection of the spread of the pandemic to the environmental conditions of many European geographical areas. Urban quality and smart plans are the basis of interventions - unfortunately delayed - which would have neutralized many health and psychological effects on people. Italy is one of the five nature projects with Latvia, Slovakia, the Netherlands and Germany, focusing on the restoration of natural ecosystems, with the aim of also improving the management of the Natura 2000 network.
Funding, in any case, includes other sources of support such as agricultural, structural, regional and research funds. Investments by private individuals who choose to participate in the creation of works of social and cultural utility are not excluded either. In short, a new step forward towards that Green Deal which must help Europe overcome the systemic crisis caused by Covid 19. "To achieve the European Green Deal - said Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission – we need to start mobilizing the unprecedented resources made available for the green transition. LIFE integrated projects promote concrete interventions that contribute to protecting the environment, restoring nature and strengthening biodiversity”.
These investments help countries and regions to react to crises". In essence, the focus is on the key sectors of regenerative resilience: nature, water, air, waste, climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation. The Italian Prime Minister Draghi in Parliament made extensive reference to the reform of the Public Administration. A necessary reform which if it does not see the light, in the context of European green funds it could constitute a serious obstacle. It is no coincidence that the final achievement of the Life programs and the 121 million euros approved is also coordinated, streamlined legislation on the environment and on a territorial scale.
The investigation and authorization bureaucracy typical of Italy can curb enthusiasm and depress the efforts of individuals and volunteers. It would be a serious stumbling block for a country that is rediscovering the road to recovery starting from the environment and from broad political sharing.
