The recently approved budget leaves little room for investment or policies for the island's development. This is simply because the €11.6 billion has always been tied to budget items that the Region must finance each year. Every budget law includes a freely usable amount of resources—the so-called maneuverable budget—of around €100 million, and in this case, almost entirely dedicated to legally adjusting the regional healthcare fund to the increase in the national one. Therefore, very little remains. The single fund for local authorities, increased by €100 million thanks to the resources of the agreement with the State, is no exception.
Now, however, the Region is working on a variation that will release €750 million unrestricted over three years: €250 million for 2026, €250 million for 2027, and €250 million for 2028. We're talking about the measure—approved by the Regional Council at the end of February and by the Chamber in the spring—long-announced by Budget Councilor Giuseppe Meloni: "Thanks to the agreement with the State on revenue, we have been able to budget additional resources amounting to €1.7 billion, which will allow us, starting in the coming weeks with the budget variation, to further strengthen the interventions in favor of Sardinia," he explained two days ago, immediately after the green light was given to the Budget Law.
This change is being described as "the most important of the legislative session" because, unlike those that are adjusted annually and use the surplus to be spent in the current year, it is a three-year measure. These three years—2026, 2027, and 2028—are the heart of the legislative session that ends in 2029. It is, therefore, a genuine budget maneuver, but unlike traditional measures that are approved at the end of the year, it has all its resources uncommitted.
The idea—according to majority sources—is not to fragment resources, but rather to choose two or three key policies and focus on those. This will be done in the spirit of maximum collaboration with the Council, which must not be a mere rubber stamp. In short, the goal is to avoid friction and controversy between the departments proposing investments and the Sardinian Assembly, which has recently been excluded from the resource planning phase. What will these €750 million be used for? First, a premise: healthcare and social policies will also be given significant space in this area. Indeed, the €100 million allocated in the budget for adjusting to the national fund are not sufficient. Another €100 million is needed to be included in the adjustment. Then, all measures to combat depopulation will certainly be reconsidered, and some policies in particular will be recalibrated. Great attention will be paid to attracting investment, including €30 million for the merger of Sardinian airports, and interventions in the beef sector, but only for the portion for which European funds cannot be used.
