A training day was held this morning at the Aula Magna of the University of Tuscia in Viterbo. “From Europe to the territories: how to use EU funds for local development”, promoted by the European Parliament Office in Italy and the European Commission Representation in Italy, in cooperation with ANCI Lazio, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the European Investment Bank and the University of Tuscia.
An appointment of high institutional and technical profile, dedicated to the local administrators of Lazio, to deepen tools, opportunities and perspectives related to the use of European funds for the development of territories.
For ANCI Lazio, i institutional greetings of the morning were entrusted to the Riccardo Varone, which reaffirmed the Association's commitment to strengthening the role of municipalities, particularly the smallest ones, in their direct relationship with European policies and their ability to intercept and make effective use of available resources.
Speakers during the proceedings included the Rector Tiziana Laureti, Vice-President of the European Parliament Antonella Sberna, the President of the Chamber's Environment Commission Mauro Rotelli, Vice-President of the Lazio Region Roberta Angelilli and the Director of the European Parliament Office in Italy Carlo Corazza.
Particularly noteworthy was the link-up speech by the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Raffaele Fitto, He emphasised that the new European Agenda for Cities and Towns aims to strengthen the direct role of municipalities, simplifying access to funds and enhancing their ability to transform European resources into concrete and measurable interventions on the territories.
An approach that goes in the direction supported by ANCI Lazio, especially in light of the difficulties faced by municipalities during the years of the spending review policies and the central role they played during the pandemic and in the implementation phase of the PNRR, which is due to be completed in the course of 2025. It is precisely the municipalities, in fact, that have proved to be among the implementing actors with the greatest capacity to spend and implement interventions.
«The regional ANCIs are changing their skins," said the President of ANCI Lazio, Daniele Sinibaldi - taking on an increasingly technical and operational role alongside the municipalities. Today, it is clear that without a stable and qualified support system, territories run the risk of not taking full advantage of the opportunities offered by the new European and regional programming».
Within this framework, ANCI Lazio is a candidate to play a leading role, providing municipalities with a technical structure composed of over 20 europrojectors, key professionals to accompany local authorities in the design, grounding and reporting of interventions.
«Intermediation is necessary,’ Sinibaldi continued, 'and we are already practising it concretely, working with the Lazio Region to support the municipalities' planning. We also do this through the’Lazio Development Observatory, which reasons by homogeneous areas and not by administrative borders, because the needs of territories often exceed provincial limits».
This approach makes it possible to address common critical issues in an integrated manner, as in the case of strategic infrastructures and essential services that affect different territories but share similar problems.
«Our goal,» the President concluded, 'is to make a concrete contribution to strengthening the country system, putting municipalities in a position to be protagonists of development policies and to respond effectively to the needs of citizens.
