A pharaonic project that costs 13.5 billion euros: the Italian Court of Auditors does not validate the bridge project between Sicily and the continent, Meloni denounces “interference”

The Italian Court of Auditors did not validate on Wednesday the government’s decision to launch a pharaonic bridge project between Sicily and the continent, estimated at 13.5 billion euros. The Court indicated in a note that it had not “approved the approval and subsequent recording” of the deliberation of a ministerial committee dating back to early August.

This validates the 13.5 billion euro project aimed at building the longest suspension bridge in the world, capable of withstanding strong winds and earthquakes between Sicily and Calabria, in southern Italy, and discussed both for its cost and for its environmental consequences.

The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who wants to make the Messina bridge a symbol of “Italy’s willpower”, immediately condemned a decision that, according to her, constitutes “one more act of interference by judges in the decisions of the Government and Parliament.”

“At a technical level, the ministries concerned and the Presidency of the Council have given precise responses to all the observations made in today’s session” of the Court of Auditors, Giorgia Meloni stated in a statement.

“Serious damage to the country”

The Italian Court of Auditors must publish its reasons before the end of November. However, the government, which had announced the start of construction in the fall, will be able to ignore it and has started hiring workers. “The constitutional reform of justice and the reform of the Court of Accounts, both under discussion in the Senate and soon to be approved, represent the most appropriate response to intolerable interference,” the Prime Minister threatened.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini, also condemned the decision: “We are determined to explore all possible avenues to start the work. We are moving forward,” Matteo Salvini launched.

“It is a victory for justice and law,” said one of the main opponents of the project, Angelo Bonelli, deputy of the Green and Left Alliance. “Salvini has taken the country hostage” and must now “resign,” he said on Facebook.

The Italian Court of Auditors had already criticized in its evaluation of the 2024 budget “a strong imbalance” in favor of the bridge in the infrastructure investments of the highly indebted Italian State.