Annex D, Country Report Italy 2020 – Key actions of the Just Transition Fund 2021-2027 – amendment

28.2.2020

Priority question for written answer P-001211/2020
to the Commission
Rule 138
Andrea Caroppo (ID)

Annex D to the Country Report Italy 2020, SWD(2020) 511 final, accompanying the communication COM(2020) 150 final, identifies the functional area of Taranto, correctly stating that it ‘hosts one of Europe’s largest steel mills’, but also stating (wrongly) that it has ‘one of the three biggest coal-fired power plants in Italy’ (which is actually in Brindisi).

Since that is not true, this was clearly a misprint on the part of the Commission which, while referring expressly to Brindisi, where there is indeed ‘one of the three biggest coal-fired power plants in Italy’, did not include the latter city among the areas to be targeted by the key actions of the Just Transition Fund (JTF).

However, the industrial area of Brindisi – which meets the same Commission criteria and requirements as those of Taranto and the Sulcis area with regard to the amount of CO2 emitted by industry, the use of fossil fuels and the impact of the energy transition on local employment – also needs to be included among the JTF key actions.

In view of the above, can the Commission answer the following questions:

• 1.Is it considering including also the industrial area of Brindisi, which was indeed referred to as having ‘one of the three biggest coal-fired power plants in Italy’, as one of the areas to be targeted by JTF key actions?
• 2.If not, why not?