INTRODUCTION BY PRESIDENT MELONI

Good morning everyone. I must apologise for not managing at the last moment to be there with you in person, due to a somewhat complex schedule. Being in Trento would have prevented me from dealing with other issues; I hope my presence via video link can suffice.  
I wish to greet the organisers, I wish to greet you, Maria (Latella), and those following us in the audience.

The wave of severe weather that hit Emilia-Romagna was exceptional: more than 200 millimetres of rain fell in 36 hours, in addition to the 300 millimetres that had already fallen in the same area during the first week of May. To understand what we are talking about: in total, in the space of 15 days, there was half of the total amount of rain that, on average, would normally fall in the same area in an entire year. We know what the outcome was: serious consequences in terms of the victims, for whom we declared a national day of mourning on Wednesday, and evacuees, of whom there are more than 15 thousand. There are, in fact, entire cities under water, compromised infrastructure, economic and production activities on their knees. As yet, it is not possible to clearly quantify the overall damages, which are huge. We will work on measures and also on the requests to be made to the European Union. I want to start from the fact that an immediate response was needed in the face of a catastrophe of this scale, and that response was given by last Tuesday’s Council of Ministers meeting, when we approved initial measures worth more than EUR 2 billion. I believe this is important to remember, because this was a tremendous effort, and was done in practically 72 hours, for which I must thank the entire Council of Ministers.

We have extended the state of emergency to all municipalities that have been hit by the flooding, those in Emilia-Romagna and also those in the Marche and Tuscany regions. We focused on a very substantial decree-law, above all to provide immediate responses for businesses, for workers, for families, for students and for the agriculture, tourism, sports and health sectors.

We have worked comprehensively, in all areas, to show that we would not look the other way. We have done so not only because it is the right and proper thing for the Region’s citizens, – we are here at the Festival dell'Economia [Economics Festival] – but also because it is important for Italy as a whole: Emilia-Romagna is a driving force in this nation and, if it comes to a standstill, we cannot maintain the excellent-sound macroeconomic parameters that Italy is recording during this very difficult period.

I also wish to say that the citizens of the areas affected deserve [this attention], because when I went to visit them, I found a very unusual situation. Normally, when you lose everything, when you find yourself in a very difficult situation, the predominant feeling is always one of anger, trying to find who is responsible or, in any case, at best, resigning yourself. I found the people there shovelling mud, with pride in their eyes, saying “ok, so we have a problem. We’ll solve it, we’ll rebuild”.

I think that when you find citizens who firstly know that they have to start from their own ability to help out, then that is all the more reason for you to roll up your sleeves.

We have done, and are continuing to do, everything we can, but this an initial part of the work. More will be needed for reconstruction. We will be called upon to find the necessary resources, and the European Commission can play an important role in this regard. Hence why President von der Leyen’s visit to Emilia-Romagna yesterday was invaluable, because it is one thing to look at the numbers, but it is quite another to see the devastation that Emilia-Romagna has suffered. We will primarily be activating the Solidarity Fund, a fund that Italy has unfortunately already had to activate on other occasions.

There are several issues the Commission can help us with, also with regard to flexibility for existing funds, starting with cohesion funds, through to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (‘NRRP’), which however regards above all the matter of making the territory safe. From this point of view, the NRRP is a very strategic fund because we are living in a time in which, inevitably, the most accurate thing we can expect is the unexpected. I left for the G7 in Japan appointing a Commissioner for the drought emergency and I have come back appointing a Commissioner for the flooding. This is the situation we are experiencing, and so making the territory safe and the possibility to spend NRRP funds in the best way possible are a top priority for us.

[Courtesy translation]