Emilia Romagna Region, the Court of Auditors: “Spending cuts”. But de Pascale says no

Bologna, June 27, 2025 – The Emilia-Romagna Region closes 2024 with "a current account deficit that at the end of the fourth quarter was 378 million euros ." This was explained by Marcovalerio Pozzato, president of the control section of the regional Court of Auditors , on the sidelines of the ceremony for the judgment of equalization of the general financial statement of the Region.

A figure that he defines as " rather considerable ". The most important fact, Pozzato underlines, is that the Region has decided to act to limit the deficit . Among the main causes of the situation, the current account imbalance aggravated by mechanisms such as the pharmaceutical payback , a temporary and non-continuous measure that should have covered about 200 million, has been indicated. "The problem is that we have relied on one-off instruments, while the deficit continues to recur in a recurring manner. This being the case, the current account deficit is structural ".

Already in 2024, as a corrective, an increase in health care tickets was introduced, which would contribute 420 million in budget forecasts. But the measure "only covers part of the deficit" and cannot be considered decisive. For Pozzato, it remains to be seen how the regional fiscal lever will be used: he speaks of the need to contain public spending, acting on the savings side, "without however affecting the essential levels of performance. Services to citizens come first. My hope is that we also intervene on the cost side, without weighing only on taxes and tariffs".

For Michele de Pascale , president of the Region, the one on healthcare "is not an imbalance, it is an increase in spending". In the judgment of the Court of Auditors "there are elements of criticality and difficulty, but Emilia-Romagna obtains the equalization , because it is a region that does not sweep ashes under the carpet". With the tax increase decided starting this year, that spending covered in the past years with regional funds and with the paypack "becomes structural". Of course, "there is a lot of work to do, on pharmaceuticals, on the reorganization of services ", he explains, but adds that "on the financial part everything is already defined and produces the effect of covering this increased spending".

An expense that the new government does not want to reduce, but increase , for example on the health , housing and non- self-sufficiency fronts. The choice to raise taxes at the beginning of the legislature, "from a political point of view can be appreciated or contested, because legitimately one could close a third of the hospitals and reduce taxes or cut staff by 10%, or remove the extra Lea, those services that in Emilia-Romagna are free and that in Italy are paid for. We could do it, but we do not want to do it, but to do it then we also need to be consistent in the revenue part, otherwise we make ourselves look good by unloading the problems onto the new generations".

"We cannot think of closing every year by 'breaking the piggy bank' and 'unloading' the burden on citizens through increased taxes and tickets ", the words of Elena Ugolini, Rete Civica. The news of the deficit "is yet another confirmation of short-sighted financial management – ​​so Marta Evangelisti, FdI group leader in the Region –. It is a fact that certifies a political failure". Pietro Vignali, Forza Italia group leader in the Region, is also critical: "We ask to take a step back and eliminate the health ticket".