Italy is a little more federal. The Senate has given the go-ahead to Calderoli's bill on the differentiated implementation of statute regions: the reform, which is technically a procedural bill and not a constitutional one, gives regions new leeway in 23 areas, from health to education, from the environment to infrastructure. Differentiated autonomy means that regions will be able to retain the tax revenues associated with service delivery for the use of those resources on their own territory. However, autonomous functions can only be allocated after determining the Essential Levels of Performance (LEP), or the minimum level of services to be rendered to citizens in a uniform manner throughout the territory, from Val d'Aosta to Sicily. In addition, to avoid economic imbalances between regions that adhere to autonomy and those that do not, the bill provides for equalizing measures. The procedure for the statute region understanding will have to last at least 5 months, including the 60 days given to the chambers to consider requests. Agreements may last up to 10 years renewed or terminated earlier, with at least 12 months' notice. There is a deep rift between the majority and opposition, according to which the reform, when finally approved, risks turning Italy "into 20 small states, one against the other, with different rights, wage cages, different administrative systems," as out by Peppe De Cristofaro of Alleanza Verdi Sinistra.
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