December 31, 2006

Controlling the cost of public expenditure

Criticism of the Finance law particularly by foreign economic newspapers has been mainly about the failure to reduce the cost of public expenditure.
The containment of the costs of the State machinery is an absolute necessity to restore competitiveness to the system that is this country.
This is why the Ministry of Infrastructure is planning a reduction of the expenditure of about 40.6% of the total that was previously spent by the administration.
The cut in costs has been communicated by the Ministry of the Economy, to put into practice the regulations for the containment and the rationalization of public spending laid down in last July’s Bersani-Visco decree that was converted into a law in August.
The aim of the regulation is to proceed to the solid action of reducing public expenditure by means of the suppression of organisations that are no longer useful and the elimination of organizational duplication within the Ministry of Infrastructure. The result goes beyond the threshold of 30 per cent that was laid down.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Reducing the costs of politics
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December 25, 2006

The Mestre bypass

Each month there's a meeting of Cipe, Comitato Interministeriale per la programmazione Economica = Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning) to evaluate the proposals of the various Ministries. Starting from this month I will keep you informed on this blog about the work approved by the Ministry of Infrastructure.
Among the measures approved on 22 December is the Mestre Bypass, whose realization will be the responsibility of Anas.
The profits from the tolls paid by motorists on the bypass, net of expenditure and dues, will be wholly re-invested in the construction of infrastructure in Veneto {the region round Venice}.
The technical definition of the agreement with the Veneto region is nearly ready and will be completed in January 2007.
The governor Gian Carlo Galan has already had the occasion to declare: 'a battle that has seen the Minister Di Pietro in confrontation with the motorway concessionaires, for very fundamental reasons.' He will be able to start off and complete the numerous engineering works planned for Veneto.
The collaboration between the Ministry and the local Public Administrations is fundamental for the development of the country and it is a principle that I am following with no political calculations. Thus without distinguishing between Governors and Mayors who are right wing or left wing. Once more wishing you a good festive season.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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December 24, 2006

Greetings

The year 2006 has been one of great changes for the country. Italians decided, with the elections, to turn over a new page after 5 years of promises and "ad personam" laws.
As I said in this blog before the elections, the new Government has two priorities: the return of the accounts of the State to a healthy economic position and the restoration of the rule of law.
The Finance law, even though it has many contradictions and it has seen that the government is incapable of communicating, has been a strong response to the situation of pre-bankruptcy of the State that we inherited.
On the topic of justice, the action of the government and above all that of the majority is basically in deficit. There is not yet any signal of discontinuity with respect to Berlusconi. Italia dei Valori has been fighting on this issue, and it will continue to do so in 2007, for the abolition of ad hoc laws and for the certainty of rights.
A new year is waiting for us. I hope that it will be a serene year for all Italians. A year for relaunching the economy, of greater social protection for the most deprived. A year for starting again, to set off and make our country great once more.
Greetings for the Festive Season. Antonio Di Pietro.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Society
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December 21, 2006

Autostrade-Abertis

I'm attaching a translation of the Ansa transcription:

“I am here to talk to you about some results from the Ministry of Infrastructure.” Antonio Di Pietro is broadcasting on YouTube, the world’s leading site for signed broadcasting on the Internet. It’s a video message to explain “why the Minister has made all this fuss” about the merger between Autostrade and Abertis.
Di Pietro is facing the camera and standing in his studio in front of what seem to be the flags of Italy and Europe, for an amateur film clip called ''Autostrade - Abertis'' lasting slightly more than 4 minutes which can be seen via a link from his own personal Internet site.
In this way, he is relaunching an appeal to the motorway concessionaires to stick to a “pact, a pact for the country that we are asking for - he explains – to those who every morning are authorised to take your money to fill up their pockets.”
The minister, who points out the reform of the concessions in the Finance law, is referring to the motorway tolls and he indicates that it is right that there is a profit for the companies, and he is talking directly to the concessionaires and asks:
“All that you gain, reinvest it in the infrastructure, in our country, because it is the citizen who every morning is contributing to the creation of all this mass of money that disappears.”
The country, says the Minister “needs infrastructure and liquidity to be able to realize new investments and thus create new jobs and think of the young people.
Market freedom yes, but not taking every morning from the citizens and then going and putting it in some box in the Virgin Islands, in tax havens, in creating only extra personal profits.” The minister estimates the income from the companies in the sector to be 6,000,000,000 a year. He says – of this, at least 4,000,000,000 a year could be re-invested. At the moment most of this money is used for dividends, for profits that are not re-invested in the infrastructure, and so money for infrastructure is never there. If we calculate that the concessions last decades, we calculate that about 250,000,000,000 Euro that could have been re-invested up until now has not been invested. We want this to happen because this money belongs to the citizens.”

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Economy
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December 17, 2006

Time limits on convictions for accounting crimes

I have asked for a political clarification regarding the topic of justice and the rule of law in relation to the regulation inserted into the Finance law about ‘time limit for conviction for accounting crimes’
A disastrous measure for the credibility of the Unione.
This is an amendment that in fact brings the behaviour of the Unione into line with that of Berlusconi.
After claiming to have fought the Berlusconi government’s 'ad personam' for 5 years, with a subterfuge, a regulation is introduced that prevents the State from recovering the sums of money that public officials and corrupt State employees have misappropriated from the State.
This amendment is absolutely serious even because it betrays the good faith of Italia dei Valori in relation to the fact that the government’s maxi-amendment must respect the Unione’s manifesto.
Unfortunately, Italia dei Valori finds itself sharing an objective responsibility for an amendment that has not been agreed. An amendment that it will not approve. However it is not sufficient to eliminate the amendment.
Those responsible should be identified by means of an internal investigation and measures against them should be taken immediately.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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December 13, 2006

Sit-in for Justice

Tomorrow, 14 December from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm, with a sit-in in front of Montecitorio, Italia dei Valori will demonstrate to draw the attention of politicians, the media and the citizens to 2 serious issues of injustice.

The first relates to Cesare Previti, convicted of corruption of the magistracy and sentenced to 6 years of house arrest, which was reduced to 3 by applying the pardon law, and as well as the punishment he is banned for life from holding public office.
The member of Parliament in the Forza Italia grouping is still acting as a member of Parliament, with all the expenses, after almost 8 months since the sentence was delivered.
Tomorrow he has been summoned to the umpteenth meeting of the parliamentary committee for elections and it is expected that there will be an announcement on the incompatibility of his staying as a member of parliament.

The second relates to Europa 7, the TV channel that in 1999 obtained 2 TV frequencies of the national terrestrial range, but after 7 years it still cannot broadcast on the frequencies that are occupied by Rete 4.
This situation is evidence of the state of degradation of the democratic life of Italy. Justice must be equal for everyone, including Previti and Rete 4.
At the demonstration, among those participating with me will be Francesco Di Stefano, the entrepreneur owning Europa 7 and 7 Plus, the members of Parliament of the Upper and Lower Houses and the group of the Region of Lazio of Italia die Valori. The demonstration is open to the public.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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Response to Abertis

Abertis has assumed a position which cannot be shared in relation to the Autostrade affair. Today’s Corriere della Sera carries an interview I’ve given about this matter.

CdS: Ministro Di Pietro, what is your response to Alemany Mas?
ADP: Instead of getting angry with the Italian government, he should reflect on his own errors and on those of Autostrade.

CdS: Which are?
ADP: Tell me why this gentleman is knocking on all the doors in Rome and in Brussels instead of presenting his merger plan to the only institution that can give or deny authorization and that is the Ministry of Infrastructure?
And then so as not to have to go so low as to ask for what he should ask for according to the law, he takes the issue to the TAR. He doesn’t win any of the 4 cases, and then he complains that we are making him waste time? In what world is he living?

CdS: It has been said that Italy will lose a foreign investor.
ADP: Those are the usual lies. Italy will not lose a Euro in investment. Autostrade is committed to make 11,000,000,000 in investments according to the agreement. And this it will do, since it has an abundance of resources, if, well before completing its commitments, it can distribute an extraordinary dividend of 2,000,000,000. In the merger plans there was not even an extra metre of motorway. Perhaps they didn’t knock on the right door because they didn’t want to be asked for this extra metre.
They were thinking of their own interests and certainly not of the interests of the country.

CdS: But in a market economy they are legitimate interests.
ADP: Certainly, in the right context that’s true. If there is competition, and safeguarding of consumers.
In a public service managed as a concession, making use of the public patrimony, there are other rules. It is the one allocating the concession that must defend the collective interest.
Of course, it seems to me that the Spanish government is keen to promote the interests of the public by dictating the conditions by which E.On can make its offer for Endesa.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Economy
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December 11, 2006

TAR of Lazio and Autostrade

TAR of Lazio has turned down Autostrade’s suspension request relating to the measures taken by Anas on 5 August earlier this year.
Autostrade and the concessionaires in general must now take note of the fact that the new regulations introduced with the Finance Law do not change the rules but impose greater transparency to protect the citizens and the State.
Taking the case to the European Union and to the TAR has been instrumental and has produced results which were the opposite of those expected by Autostrade and by some of their political allies.
TAR of Lazio has furthermore turned down the application by Autostrade against the freezing of the maxi-dividend of 2,100,000,000 Euro in the absence of committed funds for the engineering works that have not been carried out and surprisingly of a value equal to about 2,000,000,000 Euro.
The interests of the public cannot be made subordinate to those of private individuals or companies. I hope that after the TAR’s decision, that the counter-positioning of the concessionaires will stop and that they will no longer consider maximum profits to be their top priority.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Economy
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December 07, 2006

Lawless Ether

The TV channel Europa7 won the regular State competition in 1999 to get a concession to transmit on a national scale on frequencies that at that time were used by Mediaset Rete4.
Mediaset Rete4 since then has continued to transmit on these same frequencies, first as a continuation, then according to what was established by the Gasparri law.
After a series of applications to the TAR and to the Council of State, the matter has been taken to the European Court of Justice.
At the Court of Justice, the Berlusconi Government, in power at the time, through the State Advocacy Service, defended the Gasparri law.
On 30 November, the Prodi Government, through the State Advocacy Service, supported the community legitimacy of the Gasparri law during a new hearing at the European Court of Justice, thus for this Europa7 case, it was following the political path of the previous government.
Italia dei Valori has presented a parliamentary question to minister Gentiloni to ask that the government clears up what has happened and the reasons for which it has not considered it appropriate to modify its judicial stance.
The Europa7 affair was caused by a freedom-killing law of the Berlusconi Government. The Centre Left cannot pull back from a redesign of the Italian radio and TV system that protects the principle of freedom of information.
I ask Minister Gentiloni to resolve the situation as soon as possible, recognizing the right of Europa7 to broadcast.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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December 05, 2006

Capping the cost of politics

Italia dei Valori has taken action so that the Finance Law can contain an important package of regulations. A package that contains the rationalization of the costs of politics, the elimination of waste, the reduction of the pockets of inefficiency and privilege that still remain within our political system
The regulations that we are putting forward fix an upper limit to the payments made to those who are active, directly or indirectly, in politics. In particular the golden salaries of public managers, of ministers and of undersecretaries.
Many of these regulations have already been approved in the Lower House.
I have been told that for technical reasons the regulation fixing an upper limit on payments received by politicians at the level of villages, towns and cities, provinces, areas and mountain communities has been excluded. These upper limits need to be reduced by at least a third.
This regulation has been presented another time to the Upper House.
On this point that is crucial to our commitment, we will fight to the end in the Upper House.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Reducing the costs of politics
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December 04, 2006

Facts and Words

The opposition that today is demonstrating on the streets of Rome with a papier-mâchè demonstration, a pale imitation of the carnival of Viareggio, should rather accept what happened while it was in government. The demonstration will soon be forgotten.
The enormous holes in the State’s balance sheet will live on as will the ad hoc laws, including the Cirielli law that will allow Previti to escape from justice for the reduction in the terms of “prescrizione”, the ‘porcata’ election law, and the virtual great engineering works and so on and so on.
An economic, political and social disaster. This government is performing actions. This is even recognised by the Mayor of Milan.
The previous government, in which even the Lega was present, in relation to Milan, produced only promises that were not carried through. The current government has approved with an amendment from me, the provision of 160,000,000 Euro to create the linea 4 between Lorenteggio and Linate.
Letizia Moratti said: “After 20 years Milan is setting off with the metro and in 2007 construction work will start on lines 4 and 5”. She added: “The government has kept to its promises.”
The previous government limits itself to demonstrating on the streets.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Economy
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