To ski or not to ski at Christmas? The question may seem idle given the seriousness of the health situation (853 deaths in Italy only yesterday), but the question affects such a large amount of economic interests that it has become an international case. Monday evening, speaking on the show Half past eight, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte clarified that the Government is aiming for a European agreement. If Italy closed the slopes but the neighboring countries did not do the same - is the reasoning - our compatriots could go skiing across the border, get sick and then go home to spread the virus. So the economic sacrifice would be in vain.
The problem is that the road to international understanding is by no means easy. Again, the main problem is theAustria, who openly criticizes the Italian proposal. “In the context of the European discussion, we will evaluate – says a government source from Vienna quoted by the Republic - Mom only if a significant portion of the lost turnover will be reimbursed to us”, around 80%. A rather high figure: for just the three weeks of Christmas holidays, Austrian Finance Minister Gernot Bluemel estimates a possible hole of 2,4 billion euros. "I cannot share the Italian initiative - the Minister of Tourism Elisabeth Koestinger stressed - There will certainly be winter tourism in Austria: our operators will be based on a broad safety protocol".
In fact, Vienna is willing to negotiate, but it is clear that much will depend on the progress of the epidemic. Next week the government will decide whether to exit the total lockdown in force until 7 December. If the contagion curve were to decline, the snow season could start from the middle of the month or from December 20 at the latest.
The Kurz government is primarily concerned about competition from Switzerland, which is not part of the European Union and has no intention of closing the ski resorts (already in operation), despite the very serious health situation even in the cantons.
from France, however, government sources hypothesize the creation of an ad hoc European fund - to add to the many already active - to make up for the lost revenues of the tourist season. On the underlying problem, however, Emmanuel Macron agrees with Conte: "A reopening for the holidays does not seem possible," said the French President in a televised speech, postponing the speech until the new year.
The priority of Macron and Conte is avoid leopard-spotted closures, which would leave areas where it would be possible to go skiing by moving a few tens of kilometres. The Elysee is also concerned by the Spain, which announced the forthcoming reopening of its plants.
as to GermanyMarkus Soeder, the governor of Bavaria – a land facing the Alps – said that “a single agreement would be preferable. If we want to keep the borders open, we also need a clear agreement on skiing. Otherwise it's difficult to move forward."
Translated, it means that the sci issue could blow up Schengen (again).. Conte thinks so too, who on Tuesday spoke about the problem in a phone call with the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. At the beginning of December, Brussels will publish the recommendations of the "Stay Safe Strategy", to prevent Europe from repeating the mistakes made during the summer holidays.
