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The government is set to allocate 20
million euros to Emilia Romagna for its immediate needs after
this week's devastating floods in the region, Premier Giorgia
Meloni's office said after she chaired a video conference
meeting on the emergency on Friday.
"As soon as the request for the declaration of a state of
emergency by the Emilia Romagna region reaches the government, a
cabinet meeting will be called to allocate 20 million euros to
meet the initial needs and to restore essential services, and
further allocations will be made available at the outcome of
post-emergency reconnaissance," Meloni said in the statement.
Sources said the cabinet meeting would take place on Saturday.
Meloni's pledge was made as a political row rumbles on between
the centre-right central government and the region run by a
centre-left alliance led by the Democratic Party (PD) over who
is to blame for the huge impact of the extreme weather, just a
year after a previous wave of deadly floods hit the region.
On Thursday Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci called out
the regional government for allegedly not spending all the money
it has been given to deal with the aftermath of last year's
floods and not taking preventative action.
He continued the attack on Friday, saying: "it's the end of the
world when it rains in Emilia-Romagna - something is wrong".
PD leader Elly Schlein has accused the government of "political
looting" in its reaction to the floods, two months ahead of
elections in the region.
The centre-left party has pointed out that the government put
its own commissioner in charge of the reconstruction after last
year's floods, rather that former governor Stefano Bonaccini,
who recently stepped down after being elected to the European
Parliament.
Interim Governor Irene Priolo took a swipe at the government on
Friday, saying President Sergio Mattarella had called in the
wake of this week's floods but Meloni had not.
She also said she did not understand why Musumeci was giving so
much stress to the situation in Emilia-Romagna while Marche,
governed by the centre-right administration, was also badly hit
by flooding.
"It is shameful to describe us as an ineffective region," Priolo
said.
"I won't stand for it".
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