France and Italy have signed an agreement which confirms that the Turin-Lyon high-speed railway will be completed "within the envisaged time frame". The signature came during a summit in the prefecture of Lyon between Italian premier Mario Monti and French president François Hollande. The joint declaration was signed by the Ministers for Economic Development Corrado Passera and by the French colleague Frederic Cuviller, head of Transport.
“Unity in action and convergence in positions – he said Holland at the end of the meeting -. This is what we demonstrated today during our meeting. We have signed an internal security agreement to fight against various forms of crime. Also on the economic-industrial level we have expressed common intentions: two councils will be created on industrial and economic issues. Furthermore, we intend to follow a policy of unity, which is why we signed the Lyon-Turin agreement”.
The tender for the assignment of the works will start at the beginning of 2013 of the 9-kilometre tunnel that will connect the two countries by rail, while work should begin at the beginning of 2014. As for the timing, "it will take a while", Hollande said without saying too much.
on your part, Monti he underlined that Italy and France "confirm the Turin-Lyon high-speed train project with strong political will". To underline even more the conviction of this choice, the Premier announced that the next bilateral summit between the two countries will take place in the capital of Turin.
"The more we manage to overcome various kinds of national obstacles, the stronger our position will be in advocating for adequate financial means in the European budget" are needed. “President Hollande and I both believe private and public investments are essential to increase production capacity. These objectives are also justified in terms of budget rigor”.
Meanwhile, outside the prefecture, the police were taking measures against what Monti called the "national obstacles". Tens of kilometers from an armored Lyon, the forces of order have stopped several times the 13 buses of No Tav activists who left from the Val di Susa. A demonstration organized by the Italian and French opponents of the railway line is scheduled for the afternoon. Also on this front, in a certain sense, there is "unity in action and convergence in positions".
