Good afternoon everyone, thank you for being here.

Thanks to President Bonaccini, thanks to Mayor Zattini, thanks to Commissioner Figliuolo, to the President of the Province and to the other Mayors who have spoken, but, above all, I of course wish to thank, as well as Minister Fitto and the members of the Government, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who is returning to this area following her last visit just a few days, a few weeks, after the flooding eight months ago, having worked to achieve very important results together over these months.

The last time we were here, President von der Leyen expressed not only European solidarity but also her commitment not to leave these lands alone and to do all the European Commission and the European Union could to help. I think the fact she is here again today, with us being able to present the results of that commitment, is a sign of reliability and concreteness, and I really believe all the citizens of this region, and not only of this region, must thank President von der Leyen for this.
We have worked a lot together over the last months, we have worked very productively, and for this I would also like to thank all the offices and staff involved, I wish to thank Bjoern Seibert and indeed all those who help us to do this work. 

The first and most important thing I must talk to you about is the revision of our National Recovery and Resilience Plan. As you know, we initiated a revision of the NRRP, which some said would not be possible; to the contrary, however, it was not only possible but also necessary, considering the changed context we find ourselves operating in. That revision of the NRRP, which frees up EUR 21 billion in resources, includes a very significant allocation for the flood-hit areas, starting of course with Emilia Romagna, for a further EUR 1.2 billion, which are in addition to the resources already earmarked by the Government. 
As well as ensuring that built-up areas and river basins exposed to hydrogeological risk are made safe, these resources will also allow environmental remediation and work to mitigate the effects of climate change to be carried out, guaranteeing significantly greater flood risk management control as well as the restoration and redevelopment of public housing, social and healthcare facilities, schools, sports infrastructure and energy grids.

We will use these resources to rebuild, but also for something that is just as important, we could say even more important, which is prevention against other events of this nature.
Including this priority among the goals of the NRRP has another consequence, which in my view is very important and regards time frames.
As you know, NRRP resources have to be spent very swiftly, and including these goals in the NRRP demands that we work at speed, with the relative schedule stating that all measures must be specified by the third quarter of 2024, all contracts must be awarded by the second quarter of 2025 and 90% of the works projects must be completed by the end of 2026: that means that we have to work and work quickly.

This important goal is clearly in addition to the work the Government has already done. I’m sure Ursula won’t mind if, also on this, we quickly go over the work the Government has done so far.
With decree 61, we earmarked almost EUR 1.8 billion to support the resilience of the production system and employment levels, and subsequently, with decree 88, we allocated an additional EUR 2.5 billion for public reconstruction work, more than EUR 120 million in initial contributions towards private reconstruction work, EUR 100 million for businesses, plus another EUR 149 million through a later measure.

With the work being carried out by Commissioner Figliuolo, whom I must also thank, out of the EUR 2.5 billion earmarked for public reconstruction work, EUR 1.6 billion have already been made available to local authorities. In addition, there are approximately EUR 1 billion in further resources already available to the Commissioner. EUR 100 million have already been paid out to families for immediate support (a self-sufficiency grant), as have 60,000 days of ‘cassa integrazione’ [fund to supplement earnings], EUR 200 million for self-employed workers, with another 600 already available to the Commissioner. The resources we are talking about today are in addition to all this work.

I must add that the European Union’s support is also not limited to the funds provided for in the NRRP; it also involves resources allocated from the European Solidarity Fund – this was the first thing we spoke about during our previous visit to Emilia Romagna. The Civil Protection Department is handling the relative application, for which I must thank Minister Musumeci, of course with the help of the Emilia Romagna Region, and this could lead to an additional contribution, unless I am mistaken, of EUR 378 million, although the European Commission has already made a pre-payment of EUR 95 million and did so very quickly. This is therefore another important allocation of which I also want to take note, because we are here to bring concrete responses.

I shall come to a close. During our bilateral meeting with President von der Leyen just now, we of course also discussed many other issues, which are all the issues we are working on together, starting with the next European Council meeting. This European Council meeting will be a very important one, and we will once again be discussing the review of the multiannual financial framework, the mid-term review, as well as important matters ranging from the need to guarantee support to Ukraine through to resources for migration. Migration, and the Italian approach of working on the external dimension rather than thinking of solving the problem once it has already arrived in Europe, is one of the issues that the President of the European Commission and I have worked on a lot together over these months, and I wish to thank her also for this.

I would also like to thank her - and now I really will come to a close - for participating in the Italy-Africa Conference, which as you know we will be holding in Rome on 28 January. The purpose of this Conference, which will be attended by several African Heads of State and Government, is to continue talking about Europe’s approach, and Italy’s approach with the ‘Mattei Plan’, discussing with these countries through a new, non-predatory and certainly a peer-to-peer approach, that can build important things with these nations in the long-term.
Ursula von der Leyen understood this long before others did and I wish to thank her for attending and for the contribution she will bring.

Thank you.

[Courtesy translation]