the Council of State considers the legislative reform on the ports necessary, but not sufficient



The Council of State has yesterday emitted the opinion returned from the special Commission on the outline of decrees legislative in matter of Harbour Authorities, in which it evidences that draft of the first organic reform of the Harbour Authorities after beyond twenty years and is explained that the outline of I decree is composed of 20 articles and an attached one that more modify deeply the law on the ports than twenty years ago (n. 84 of 1994).

The Council of State expresses appreciation about the objectives of the reform, than it is proposed to reorganize the structure and to simplify organs and procedures, specifying that "in particular it is proposed, in along and mean the period, to take part on the dimension "monoport of call" of the organs of government of the ports (being exceeded the obsolete model of City port), passing from the current "Harbour Authorities" to the "Authorities of harbour System"; to exceed excessive current localism; to realize greater interaction and integration with the logistic areas of the country; to express greater ability to coordination; to simplify and to slim the connected administrative implementations to the development of the harbour activities (in the short period)".

The special Commission expresses appreciation also "for the innovative cut of the illustrative relation, that it supplies the strategic vision and logic (not legal, but) associate-economic of the participation: in an era of globalization of the goods - it is explained - it is necessary to return the government of our ports more agile and to connect them with the economic and social world, in order to make of the "System Sea" the engine of an economic development that throws again the role of Italy of natural protagonist of the connection between East and Europe".

For the special Commission, the reform is framed in that "renewed vision of the public administration, than the Council of State it supports and it encourages", second which the "State are called to not only exercise autoritative and managerial functions, but also to promote increase, development and competitiveness", with modern and multidiscipline instruments.

It is specified that draft of a necessary but not sufficient reform. "Own in order to assure the attainment of the strategic objectives - it becomes clear - the special Commission finds that the single participations of "reorganization" of the governance and of "simplification", though necessary, are not by themselves sufficient to give again economic overhong to the field. The Council of State emphasizes the importance of a vision that not limits to a mere reduction of the territorial summits of government of the ports and to the institution of "tables" of coordination to local and national level, but is of true throws again of the portualità on the base of the national planning and the opening to the world of the logistics and the intermodalità".

"It signals, in particular, the opportunity of the fulfillment of other reforms currently interim and closely connected (you see, for example, the reform of interposing to you). Moreover, it places in evidence the importance that the government curiums also here - as in the other fields - the ulterior implementing phase, through initiatives is "normative" (decrees corrective), but also (and) "above all not normative" of formation, institutional communication, informatizzazione, monitoring of the praxes, in short of "constant maintenance" of the operation of the reform".

"The opinion signals the requirement at last to under investigation accompany the reform, in times breviums, with ulterior initiatives on topics (partially, already delineated from the unified Conference) which: the institution on the national territory of logistic withins of immense area, that they involve subjects private publics and, in particular, the managers of other infrastructures, railway, street, airport; the possibility to extend to the retroportuali areas the fiscal regimes and customs junior clerks to the ports; the participation on the dredging rules".

According to the Council of State, between the main strengths of the reform design there are: "the same institution of the "Authorities of Harbour System", in number more limited (15) regarding "current Harbour Authorities" (24), and the bestowal to they also of functions of connection regarding "all" the administrations having competence on the activities in harbour within; a detailed discipline of the Town development plan of harbour system and the merely technical-functional simplification of value varying; the total simplification of the organizational structure is under responsibility of the Authority of Harbour System; the implementation of competences of the administrative only Door and the customs only Door and the controls".

For how much it concerns to the main risks to avoid, the special Commission signals, "on the front of the "reorganization", the risk of duplications of Decision-Making Centers or of survival of those already existing, whereby the institution of the territorial Offices near the ports is previewed already center of the presses Harbour Authorities, with the danger to maintain the current fragmentation and to increase the costs; on the front of the "simplification", the risk that the objectives of the government effectively are not reached in the practical one, for which one ex post becomes the monitoring and the eventual adoption of corrective measures opportune".

"There is then - precise anchor the Council of State - the ulterior risk that, on thrust of the regional and local requests, the reform design dims with the introduction of delays and river-fragmentations. For example - one becomes clear - the which unified Conference, than also formula varied reasonable observations, proposes to introduce a mechanism of dismissal until 36 months of the effectiveness of the reform, or to return the insertion of a port of regional interest near an Authority of System possible. The Council of State recommends to maintain the reform system coherent, without to yield to exceptions not supported from strong objective motivations".

Moreover the opinion "signals positively the choice of a more effective mechanism for the nomination of the summits of the Authorities of Harbour System (understanding minister-Region), warning from its possible complications". The special Commission finds also "the opportunity of modulating requirement for the choice of the summits of the Authorities so that they are answering to the effective requirements of ability and professionalities demanded from the strategic importance of the field. It perceives, also, the risk to renounce - with the new system of incompatibility - to consolidated professionality, species during first application".

The Council of State recommends also "to assure the effective application of the principle of the separation between activity of management of the port and economic activities of harbour interest, clearly returning the more prohibition for the Authorities of government to carry out economic operations in harbour within, also indirectly (for through of society participated)".

With respect to the previewed institution of the "Table of partnership of the resource sea" and the "national Table of coordination", the special Commission signals "the requirement to clarify the role and the operation of two new organisms introduced from the reform: advisory (a "Table of partnership of the resource sea") and one of coordination (the "national Table of coordination")".

In particular, the specific Council of State that "the "consultation" of the stakeholders must be constructed not decisional solo as a transparent and participated procedure, but also so as to transform the contributions of this participation in factual and motivazionali elements that they return the decision discretionary a evidence-based decision, very motivated on the base of a wide and structured preliminary investigation. It is necessary, to such fine - according to the Council of State - to structure the "Table better than partnership", also with reference: to the clear and "selective" identification of its members; to the choice and the circulation of documents to discuss; to the participation modalities; to I compute of the prevailing positions; to the effects on the final decision. As for the "Table of coordination", it is necessary to connect it in way and more clearly effective with national the strategic plan of the portualità and logistics (art. 29, codicil 1, d.l n. 133 of 2014), so as the reason does not appear clear that limits it to be a expressive organ of the sun Authority of Harbour System".

At last the Council of State, in appreciating the attempt of simplification of the procedures through "only Doors", it finds "that such objective could be weakened: for effect of the exclusion from the "administrative only Door" of the procedures administrative and authorized you "that they do not regard the business activities and industrial in port"; in case of lacked connection the "customs Door" with emananda the discipline of I reorder of the police forces (art. 8, c. 1, lett. a), of the same law Kneading trough)".