«I received the letter from the vice president of the EU Commission, Raffaele Fitto. The content is very clear: there is no obligation for the Regions to use cohesion funds for measures against high energy costs. The possibility is simply provided for, on an exclusively voluntary basis, to remodulate a portion of the European funds. I find it paradoxical that alarmism is generated in the face of a proposal that expands the spaces for flexibility.” This was said by the president of the Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiuto, interviewed by telephone by ANSA.
«For years – he adds – we have criticized the rigidity of European rules in the use of community funds. Today, however, Europe opens up the possibility of adapting tools to the concrete needs of the territories. Calabria, moreover, has already demonstrated its ability to use these tools responsibly. We were among the first to carry out medium-term reprogramming, allocating resources to strategic sectors such as social housing and the water system. As far as we are concerned, we are already carefully evaluating all the opportunities that this new possibility could offer. If we were to identify useful margins to support Calabrian businesses and families affected by high energy prices, we would have no difficulty in considering a remodulation of European resources. But it is good to reiterate it forcefully: there is no diktat, there is no imposition and there is no subtraction of resources from the territories. There is simply a faculty left to the Regions, on a voluntary basis, who therefore remain fully free to decide whether and how to use it”. «For this reason – concludes Occhiuto – I consider the controversies of the last few days completely incomprehensible. We are discussing an additional possibility, not an obligation. And when Europe offers greater flexibility and greater decision-making autonomy to territories, it should be good news for everyone.”