Naples tears down last ‘Gomorrah’ tower block, Italy says EU plan to use frozen Russian assets “cannot be forced”, and more news on Thursday.
Naples tears down last ‘Gomorrah’ tower block
Work began on Wednesday to demolish the last of Naples’ notorious Vele di Scampia tower blocks, known worldwide as the setting for the hit TV series Gomorrah.
Two excavators started pulling down the Vela Rossa (Red Sail) in the northern district of Scampia, with Mayor Gaetano Manfredi and Campania Governor Roberto Fico watching, Ansa reported. The building should be gone within two weeks.
“A place that for years was a negative symbol of the city is being transformed,” Manfredi said. “Today it’s becoming a place of hope and opportunity for Scampia residents.”
The Vele were built in the 1970s but became Europe’s biggest drug-dealing centre after being taken over by the Camorra crime group. Three of the seven original buildings have already been torn down since 1997, with one more demolished earlier this year.
New homes for 433 families, schools and green spaces will replace the blocks by 2027, funded with €159 million from EU recovery funds.
Italy says plan to use frozen Russian assets “cannot be forced”
Italy appeared to support an EU plan to use frozen Russian assets to provide Ukraine a 90-billion-euro loan for rebuilding ahead of a Brussels summit expected to focus on the issue, AFP reported.
However, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said “these are complex decisions that cannot be forced,” in a speech to parliament before the European Council meeting on Thursday and Friday.
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“Italy obviously considers the principle that Russia should be the first to pay for the reconstruction of the nation it has attacked to be sacrosanct, but this result must be achieved on a solid legal basis.”
The plan faces fierce opposition from Belgium, which holds most of the funds and fears it would be left open to Russian reprisals. The country is insisting on rock-solid guarantees from other EU states that they will share any legal and financial liabilities.
Attempts to reassure the Belgian government have so far failed to break the deadlock, setting up a potentially marathon round of wrangling at the summit.
Italy ‘won’t sign’ Mercosur trade deal without guarantees for farmers
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also said on Wednesday that Rome was not ready to sign off on a vast trade deal between the EU and South American bloc Mercosur.
“It would be premature to sign the deal in the coming days”, as some of the safeguards Italy wants to protect farmers are still to be finalised, she told parliament.
The European Commission, backed by Europe’s largest economy Germany, aims to win EU member state backing before the year’s end for the deal with the group made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, according to AFP.
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It would create the world’s largest free-trade area and allow the EU to export more vehicles, machinery, wines and spirits to Latin America, while easing the entry of South American beef, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans into Europe.
But while some countries, like Spain, are pushing for a quick approval, others including France have voiced concerns for their agricultural sectors and want a delay until 2026.