The date circled in red on the agenda is Friday 16th. In the Port of Gioia Tauro, the most important infrastructural hub in Calabria, the signing of the Cohesion Agreement between the national government and the Region is scheduled. The arrival of the prime minister is expected for the theme song on the final act Giorgia Meloni and the minister Raffaele Fitto as well as, of course, the Calabrian governor Roberto Occhiuto. There is no shortage of those who point out that the agreement will arrive on the same day as the president of Campania, Vincenzo De Lucawill be in Rome to lead the protest against differentiated autonomy.
Calabria’s share of FSC amounts to 2.2 billion. Within this figure, in addition to interventions in the fields of infrastructure, water, cultural heritage, environment and hydrogeological instability, there are also the 300 million to be allocated to the construction of the Bridge over the Strait. Money, in any case, reusable for other purposes in the event that the stable connection project between Calabria and Sicily were to fail.
The formal agreement with the central government is necessary to unlock the disbursement to the Region of the resources of the Development and Cohesion Fund (FSC) which serve to co-finance the projects of the European funds (ERDF and ESF+). Without the FSC quota, so far it has taken its time in publishing the 2021-2027 programming calls which risk remaining at a standstill for several more months.
