European Commission President Ursula
von der Leyen will visit Emilia-Romagna Thursday to see for
herself relief efforts after the floods that have killed 14
people and caused widespread devastation, Governor Stefano
Bonaccini said Tuesday.
Speaking after meeting Premier Giorgia Meloni after she approved
sweeping relief measures at a special cabinet meeting on the
floods, Bonaccini said "on Thursday President von der leyen will
come".
Bonaccini added that the region already had a model for
reconstruction, that used after a devastating 2012 earthquake,
and stressed that a specific decree would be needed for
reconstruction.
"Thank you to the premier for coming to our wounded land and so
to the ministers and undersecretaries. We have brought the
business system, the professionals and the unions. It is a way
of working that we have already experienced and which has been
very useful in tackling the emergency and reconstruction,"
Bonaccini said after meeting Meloni in Rome.
"There are those who have lost everything and those who have
lost almost everything.
"The damage to the roads alone is one billion," he added.
"We will then need a decree for reconstruction. With 12 billion
euros of damage from the earthquake, we have rebuilt almost
everything. We need simplification rules for an intervention
capacity that is adequate for a reconstruction that is done
well, in full respect of legality, but also quickly, to restart
a region that is first in terms of per capita exports. There are
billions of euro of damage. There are 300 active landslides,
entire forests have come down, there is the issue of rivers, and
there is the issue of roads and infrastructure".
In May 2012, two major earthquakes struck Emilia Romagna within
the space of a few days, causing 27 deaths and widespread
damage.
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