The 2030 Plan for Southern Italy, Which Was Included in the National Reform Plan Sent to the European Commission in June 2020
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Minister for Southern Italy and Territorial Cohesion In particular, it is necessary to reduce the further increasing divide between Northern and Southern Italy. Its consequences are affecting not only the southern communities, but the Country as a whole, held back in its development potential. [The President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella, 31 December 2019] Italy has fractures in several areas. Inequalities and divides build up and become stronger across territories. Bridging territorial gaps is not only an act of justice; it is the essential lever to activate the unspoken development potential of our Country. Talks long focused on the immigration emergency, referring to it as an “invasion” for months. Yet they failed to see Southern Italy getting empty, its villages becoming depopulated, the exodus of new generations — that is the real national emergency. Decent employment is certainly missing. And quality services: education, healthcare, mobility. Yet, the main cause of this escape, as well as of the fatigue of those who remain, lies in uncertainty and mistrust as to Southern Italy’s future perspectives ten to twenty years from now. Leaving should be an option; now it is a need again, the only way to improve one’s living conditions. Young people should be free to leave, yet they should also have the opportunity to return. Our task is to guarantee the "right to stay", make Southern Italy not only "attractive" but also a true “attractor”: for investments, people, new ideas. The main objective of the "2030 Plan for Southern Italy" is to ensure a systematic policy and action framework to tackle some of the main challenges for sustainable development in Southern Italy, thus providing the basis for a radical shift in cohesion policy in its eight regions, with a short, medium and long-term perspective. The Plan was devised through a very wide and transparent consultation process, involving all relevant entities and parties at the public, private sector and civil society level. The Plan was adopted by the Italian Government in February 2020, therefore it does not include specific measures to counter the dramatic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit our Country just a few weeks later. Yet, all the strategic objectives and actions identified in the Plan are extremely timely and coherent also in the framework of the response to the very serious effects of the pandemic in Italy and in its Southern regions, at central, regional and local level. The pandemic confirmed the outmost urgency of translating into action the strategic missions and objectives identified by the 2030 Plan for Southern Italy, which was included in the National Reform Plan sent to the European Commission in June 2020. Italy will be what its “Mezzogiorno” will be. No one saves himself or herself alone. The “Southern question” has historically been Italy’s most difficult challenge since its unification. Yet, it is not a lost cause. There is great vitality and innovation capacity in social and entrepreneurial forces, in “active citizenship” expressions, in places that embody possible change, in instances that already perform that model of sustainable development which we want to achieve. Politics has the task to generate and disseminate well-being, accelerate and support virtuous processes, also through extraordinary and ad-hoc measures for workers and enterprises. The prerequisite lies in responding to emergencies and needs, whereby necessary, regaining territories and citizens to legality. Development and cohesion are "missions". They involve not only southerners, but all those engaged in the battle aimed at making Italy a more just and advanced country. Institutions and citizens, politics and society must jointly fight this battle, side by side. Fully aware of the difficulties, of course, but also of the huge array of opportunities that lie before us. We can start a new page. We must write it together. Rome, September 2020 Giuseppe Provenzano Table of Contents 1 I. Introduction. A plan for the South is a project for Italy 4 II. Resources. A commitment for the 2020-2030 decade 4 1. The State’s progressive disinvestment over the past decade 5 2. Re-launching public investments over the 2020-2030 decade 5 2.1 A first impact: further 21 billion euros over 2020-2022 2.1.1. Enhancing the 34% clause 2.1.2. Regaining a national cohesion policy: reactivating the FSC 2.1.3. Enhancing EU cohesion policy implementation BOX 1. ACCELERATING SPENDING OVER 2020-2022 10 2.2 Towards 2030: EU and national resources for 2021-2027 BOX 2. PROGRAMMING 2021-2027 RESOURCES 12 III. Missions. A vision of Southern Italy in 2030 BOX 3. THE 2030 PLAN FOR SOUTHERN ITALY AND THE UN 2030 AGENDA 15 1. A youth-oriented Southern Italy BOX 4. THE UN 2030 AGENDA AND THE FIRST MISSION OF THE 2030 PLAN FOR SOUTHERN ITALY 16 2. A connected and inclusive Southern Italy BOX 5. THE UN 2030 AGENDA AND THE SECOND MISSION OF THE 2030 PLAN FOR SOUTHERN ITALY 20 3. A go-green Southern Italy BOX 6. THE UN 2030 AGENDA AND THE THIRD MISSION OF THE 2030 PLAN FOR SOUTHERN ITALY 23 4. An innovation-frontier Southern Italy BOX 7. THE UN 2030 AGENDA AND THE FOURTH MISSION OF THE 2030 PLAN FOR SOUTHERN ITALY 25 5. A Southern Italy open to the world in the Mediterranean BOX 8. THE UN 2030 AGENDA AND THE FIFTH MISSION OF THE 2030 PLAN FOR SOUTHERN ITALY 28 IV. The first actions in 2020 28 1. A youth-oriented Southern Italy 1.1. Schools open all day 1.2. Countering educational poverty and early school leaving 1.3. Reducing skill-related territorial divides 1.4. Enhancing the school building sector 1.5. Extending the No-Tax Area (without penalising universities) 1.6. Attracting researchers to Southern Italy 31 2. A connected and inclusive Southern Italy 2.1. A more connected Southern Italy: infrastructures and services to break isolation 2.1.1. The “Piano Sud” by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport 2.1.2. Secondary road network emergency 32 2.2. A more inclusive Southern Italy: social infrastructures to guarantee full citizenship 2.2.1. The Fund for Social Infrastructures for small and medium-sized municipalities 2.2.2. New day-care nurseries in Southern Italy 2.2.3. Inclusion housing for vulnerable citizens and disadvantaged workers 2.2.4. “Case della Salute”: Healthcare Homes for integrated assistance 2.2.5. Renewing healthcare technological equipment 34 3. A go-green Southern Italy 3.1. "Energy income" for families 3.2. Circular economy experimentation 3.3. Strengthening sustainable transport 3.4. Supply chain and district contracts in the agri-food sector 3.5. Sustainable forest management BOX 9. "CANTIERE TARANTO" - AN EXTRAORDINARY PLAN FOR TARANTO 37 4. An innovation-frontier Southern Italy 4.1. R&D Tax Credit in Southern Italy 4.2. Enhancing ITSs in Southern Italy 4.3. Strengthening the "Fund of Funds" 4.4. Space Economy in Southern Italy 4.5. Technological startups in Southern Italy 39 5. A Southern Italy open to the world in the Mediterranean 5.1. Enhancing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) BOX 10. ACTIONS AND INTERVENTIONS FOR SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES 5.2. The Export Plan for Southern Italy 5.3. Supporting the port system 5.4. Defense for Southern Italy as a border and bridge in the Mediterranean 43 V. Structural policies and urgent measures for employment and enterprise BOX 11. EMPLOYMENT AND ENTERPRISE IN THE UN 2030 AGENDA 1. Incentivising women employment 2. Investment-related tax credit in Southern Italy 3. "Cresci al Sud" ("Grow in Southern Italy”) 4. The "Protocollo Sud" with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti 5. The "Protocollo Sud" with Invitalia BOX 12. BENEFITS FOR ENTERPRISES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP 51 VI. A new method: administrative regeneration 1. Main discontinuity: a cooperative method for enhanced implementation BOX 13. PROMPT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2030 PLAN FOR SOUTHERN ITALY BOX 14. THE UN 2030 AGENDA AND THE NEW METHOD INTRODUCED BY THE 2030 PLAN FOR SOUTHERN ITALY 57 2. Monitoring, evaluation, control, transparency 59 3. Countering corruption and mafias 61 4. A programme aimed at strengthening public administrations: 10 thousand young people for development and cohesion BOX 15. A LABOUR PLAN FOR CAMPANIA 64 VII. “Being close to places". A new territorial policy 65 1. Re-launching the National Strategy for “Inner Areas” BOX 16. THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR “INNER AREAS” TO DATE BOX 17. CULTURE AND BEAUTY TO RE-LAUNCH “INNER AREAS” 69 2. Urban regeneration 71 3. Territorial continuity and insularity 72 4. Flagship projects. A vision of Southern Italy in 2030 75 VIII. Partnerships. Joining “2030 Southern Italy” 75 1. A Network of Talents for Southern Italy 76 2. The “2030 Southern Italy Observatory” 77 3. A participatory path BOX 18. MILESTONES 82 Essential Bibliography I. Introduction. A plan for the South is a project for Italy Reducing disparities at citizen and territory level is not only a national priority for a more united and just Italy, it is our true opportunity to re-launch sound and long-lasting development, resume investments by activating the unexpressed potentials for growth and innovation, and create decent employment opportunities, notably for young people and women. Southern Italy has been experiencing persistent social emergency for too many years. After suffering the effects imposed by the Great Recession in a more intense way (an uninterrupted seven-year crisis over 2008-2014), Southern Regions somehow improved during the following three years, in line with the rest of the Country yet very distant from EU and Eurozone averages, thus failing to attain full recovery at production and employment level. The boost deriving from such excessively weak recovery soon came to an end: 2019 forecasts newly hinted at negative GDP in Southern Regions.