«The Government of the Sicilian Region, in concert with the national Government and the European Commission, is tackling an unprecedented water crisis with all the tools provided for by current legislation and no appeal has been ignored in defense of an economic sector of fundamental importance for the economy of Sicily”. The president of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, writes this in a note sent to Coldiretti in view of the demonstration organized in Palermo for next Tuesday.
Schifani’s letter
In the letter – also addressed to the Prime Minister, the Ministers of the Interior, Foreign Affairs and Agriculture and the prefects of Sicily – the governor assures «outside of any sterile controversy, his «full availability to listen to every concrete hypothesis project aimed at overcoming or mitigating the effects of the crisis”. Schifani, however, considering that a crisis of this size is unprecedented, expresses “deep regret for the assessments expressed by Coldiretti towards the regional government”, considering the attacks made by one of your leaders to be “instrumental and disorganized” during of the meeting on May 3.
The actions of the regional government
In the letter, President Schifani, reiterating that Sicily is suffering from the most serious drought of the last 50 years, recalls all the initiatives implemented by the regional government, starting from last February: from the declaration of regional emergency to which was followed by the request for a national state of emergency already accepted by the Council of Ministers, with the consequent order from the Civil Protection department and the allocation of twenty million euros for the first and most urgent interventions.
In addition to the allocation of 10 million euros for the purchase of fodder and the transport of water for livestock farms approved by the ARS, with the unanimous vote of the majority and opposition, on the proposal of the regional government. At the same time, a close discussion is underway with the Minister of Agriculture for the recognition of the Island’s benefits from the “National Solidarity Fund in derogation” and during the next PSR Supervisory Committee, scheduled in Taormina on the 28th and 29th May, the recognition of force majeure and exceptional circumstances will be formally submitted to the European Commission.
