"Any legislative initiative that seeks to weaken regional powers cannot be accepted. The proposal under discussion represents an attempt to circumvent our planning tools and reduce the Region's ability to exercise its constitutional prerogatives."

This is what Sardinia's governor, Alessandra Todde, said regarding the national bill submitted by Paola Chiesa (Brothers of Italy) to the Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. The bill proposes, in short, that all matters relating to national defense and security be the exclusive responsibility of the state , and that regional environmental and landscape laws apply to military areas only if compatible with Defense needs and subject to approval by the General Staff.

"Translated," comments Francesco Spanedda, regional councilor for Local Government and Urban Planning, "it would be enough to invoke 'national security' to neutralize our laws and circumvent any territorial governance instrument. This is unacceptable for an autonomous region."

Governor Todde, however, emphasizes that assets no longer used for state functions "must return to the Region's control." According to Todde, "This is a clear principle, which we will defend at all times. Military areas remain such as long as they are effectively used by the Armed Forces for institutional purposes related to defense. They cannot be transformed into free zones removed from any planning, nor can they be repurposed for other uses, circumventing regional regulations. We demonstrated this in the Sant'Elia case , when the Region asserted its rights by preventing top-down initiatives that were incompatible with our regulatory framework." For the governor, "Weakening our prerogatives means jeopardizing the landscape, the health of citizens, and the quality of life of local communities. We will not allow it."

Furthermore, Todde concludes, "dealing with the State must be based on mutual respect. However, when interventions are proposed that undermine our core competencies, the Regional Council and the entire Region will always be determined to assert their rights: we will not accept backtracking that jeopardizes Sardinia's ability to govern its own development, nor the idea that invoking 'national security' is enough to undermine our environmental and statutory protections . Defending our autonomy means defending the future of the island."

(Unioneonline/lf)

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