The initiative wanted by Minister Carfagna aims to establish a new internal area, which involves 35 municipalities and 240 citizens.
The State-Regions Conference gave a favorable opinion on the constitution of the 73rd area of the National Strategy for Internal Areas, which includes i 35 Municipalities of the smaller islands. Thus another important step is carried out to complete the path started by Minister Mara Carfagna, which culminated with the meeting with a representative of the mayors concerned on 6 April 2022.
Waiting for the complete list of new areas of the SNAI 2021-2027, a 'special project' can therefore be set up involving about 240 thousand citizens who live in some of the most evocative places in our country:
- Tuscan Archipelago (Elba Island, Giglio Island and Capraia);
- Campano Archipelago (Isle of Capri);
- Flegreo Archipelago (Island of Ischia and Island of Procida);
- Archipelago of the Pontine Islands (Ponza and Ventotene Islands);
- Spezzino Archipelago (Palmaria Island / Porto Venere);
- Tremiti Archipelago (San Nicola, San Domino, Capraia, Cretaccio and Pianosa Islands);
- Maddalena Archipelago (Maddalena and Caprera islands and numerous other small uninhabited islands);
- Sulcis Archipelago (Islands of Sant'Antioco and San Pietro);
- Archipelago of the Pelagie (Islands of Lampedusa and Linosa);
- Archipelago of the Aeolian Islands (Lipari Islands, Salina, Vulcano, Stromboli, Panarea, Alicudi and Filicudi);
- Egadi archipelago (Favignana, Levanzo and Marettimo islands).
These are municipalities classified in the new map of internal areas 2021-2027 mainly as peripheral and ultra-peripheral, with an important process of depopulation and criticalities in particular in health and education services.
A condition that prompted Minister Carfagna to first extend the 'Rest in the South' facilities also to these Municipalities and, therefore, to start a specific investigation in November 2021, conducted together with the National Association of Minor Islands Municipalities (ANCIM) and merged into a report by the Department for Cohesion Policies (read the full document).
The report formed the basis on which the inclusion of the 'Minor Islands Special Project' in the SNAI and the provision of 11,4 million euros of investments, mainly to be allocated to education and health services, as well as ecosystem services. The owner of the measure is the Agency for Territorial Cohesion, which will coordinate the selection process of the interventions to be implemented, but the beneficiaries of the resources will be directly the 35 Municipalities on which the islands are located.
Projects can be of three types:
- 'transversal', i.e. common to all the smaller islands (eg online services, actions related to common administrative processes, etc.);
- 'by aggregations', with beneficiaries from the islands of the same archipelago or even geographically distant but with common problems;
- 'per single island', as the island as a whole represents the minimum unit of financing.
"The opening of this new line of support - said Minister Carfagna during the meeting with the mayors of 6 April 2022 - responds to my conviction that the Italian State must concretely implement the constitutional principle of full equality of all citizens, allowing everyone to have equal rights and equal opportunities regardless of the geographical area of residence ".
To officially close the procedure, therefore, only the formal approval by CIPESS of the resolution that assigns the resources is now awaited.