On the revision of port governance under examination by the Transport Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Conftrasporto-Confcommercio intervened during a parliamentary hearing. The position expressed, the association reports in a note, combines agreement with the underlying objectives with profound reservations about the real effectiveness of the measure. According to the association’s president, Pasquale Russo, the principle of a central strategy for the competitiveness of ports is a shared value, but the real risk is that the reform will remain an unfinished work if Parliament does not intervene with structural corrections.
Conftrasporto’s perplexities are mostly focused on the creation and operation of Porti di Italia Spa, the new corporate entity introduced by the text, due to doubts about its constitutional nature related to compliance with Article 117 and the delicate balance in relations with the territories; furthermore, a problem of European law is added: the in-house concession for ninety-nine years to the new company requires an in-depth verification of conformity with EU rules, especially to ensure that the company’s activity does not create a distortion of competition to the detriment of private operators.
There is also the point on the economic sustainability of businesses: the reduced financial availability of the Port System Authorities risks in fact being reflected in an increase in fees and taxes borne by operators, a hypothesis that the sector asks to avert with precise safeguards. The scope of action of the new Spa also remains uncertain, with the danger of bureaucratic overlaps in complex sectors such as dredging, where the current framework does not seem to overcome historical criticalities.
Finally, the last point raised by President Russo concerns representation and method: despite the revision of the governance of the System Authorities, trade associations remain excluded from port decisions and national strategic choices. A closure that Conftrasporto considers counterproductive, since it eliminates the useful dialogue with those who invest and operate daily in the field. The association concludes with the hope that the parliamentary process can intervene to improve the text, confirming its willingness to provide its contribution in a proactive and constructive manner.
