The government approves new measures related to the war in Ukraine based on defense, welcome ed the energy. The Council of Ministers puts on paper what has already been announced in the previous hours, namely the availability and activation by Italy of a series of humanitarian, medical but also military aid. These measures will integrate the contents of the decree approved on February 25 and which, together with the Swift sanctions for Russia and the closure of the skies over Moscow, will constitute the EU's plan to stop Putin and his war.
The two provisions will be illustrated to Parliament on Tuesday 1 March, when Draghi will inform the Chambers and who, on the same day, will also be called to vote on a resolution. But let's take a closer look at what the Council of Ministers has decided.
Government approves military aid to Kiev and state of emergency until 31 December
The executive has decided to increase “relief and assistance measures for people who, in large numbers, are seeking and will seek refuge in the European Union. For this reason, it approved the declaration of a state of emergency, until 31 December 2022, aimed at ensuring relief and assistance to the Ukrainian population on the national territory as a result of the serious international crisis underway". This is what was unanimously approved by the CDM and which therefore extends the state of emergency from the initial three months to the whole of 2022.
Until then, Italy will be able to guarantee support and assistance to the Ukrainian people through the transfer of military means, materials and equipment to the government authorities of Ukraine.
There is also a specific derogation from some existing provisions. The list of military means, materials and equipment in favor of the government authorities of Ukraine is defined "with one or more decrees of the Minister of Defence, in agreement with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and of Economy and Finance ”.
Allocated 10 million euros for assistance to Ukrainian refugees
10 million euros have been allocated from the Fund for National Emergencies to allow for the organization and implementation of the most urgent interventions in terms of relief and assistance to the Ukrainian population.
Furthermore, the approved decree also provides for the strengthening of the reception network for foreigners in Italy. In particular, the provision establishes an increase of 13 places in the extraordinary centers that can be activated by the Prefects; an expansion of a further 3 places in the reception and integration system and that Ukrainian citizens will be hosted in the extraordinary reception centers even without having presented application for international protection. "The availability of the CAS and the Sai network - reads a note from Palazzo Chigi - already increased after the Afghan crisis, should also be dedicated to the accommodation and reception needs of Ukrainian refugees".
Also in the decree approved today by the Council of Ministers "a special fund of 500 thousand euros was established to finance support measures for Ukrainian students, researchers and teachers so that they can carry out their activities at universities, institutions for higher artistic, musical and dance and Italian research institutions. All means are envisaged to guarantee them the right to study, starting with scholarships”.
Government: "If necessary, gas rationing and production from other sources"
While the escalation of war and the specter of nuclear power alarm the whole world, the Italian government must also equip itself on the energy front. And for this reason, a regulation was approved by the CDM which, in the event of a real crisis in gas supplies, allows for "greater flexibility in the use of the various sources of electricity" without prejudice to the contribution of renewable energy. It is therefore about the coal-fired power plants o burning oil.
The reduction in gas consumption could affect power plants but also the thermoelectric sector which represents "one of the main components of the average daily demand for gas". And to make the measures operational, a series of tasks have been entrusted to the manager of the national transmission grid, Terna.
In addition to the coal hypothesis, the government is launching other avenues such as increasing liquefied natural gas from the USA (improving Italian regasification capacities) and bringing the Tap gas pipelines from Azerbaijan, Transmed from Algeria and Tunisia and Greenstream from Libya.
Not only military aid, Italy is also providing health care
"We are available to admit and assist adults and children in our hospitals and in these hours we are promoting the possibility of creating a humanitarian corridor to be able to treat the most fragile patients, also organizing their assisted transfer". This was stated by Giovanni Migliore, president of the Italian federation of health and hospital companies, who sent a letter to the Ukrainian ambassador in Rome, Yeroslav Melnyk, to offer concrete support to the country.
Italian cyber agency alarm: "Maximum defense"
Meanwhile, in relation to the evolution of the geopolitical situation, the National Cybersecurity Agency strongly recommends all national digital infrastructure operators to adopt "a maximum cyber defense". The invitation is to launch "all the most urgent prevention and control measures: reduction of attack surfaces, verification that access control to systems is implemented correctly, raising the monitoring levels of IT infrastructures, adopting plans for the preparation and management of cybernetic crisis situations, exchange of information towards the reference cyber articulations".
