planning tools in force with the analyses prescribed under art. 5 of the
Framework Directive and implement the regulation of the process of
internationalization of the environmental costs of the activities linked to water
management and consumption.
Finally, as to the qualitative protection of water basins; the attainment of the
objectives dictated by Framework Directive 2000/60/EC calls for remarkable
investments on the part of the Regions, above all in terms of sewage and water
treatment plants for the entire cycle of water use, which imply very complex
procedures to find private capital, including e.g. assignments in project
financing, tariff regulation for the services related to the construction of water
treatment plants for wastewater, and self-financing for the ordinary
administration of water works. In this connection it should be observed that it
has just been through the partnership agreements subscribed to with the central
government for the implementation of the Community Support Framework
(CSF), that the Regions of Southern Italy have reinforced and expended their
powers of management of water resources in this field in a sort of attempt of
cooperative federalism intended to pursue the objectives of sustainable
development of the European policies. Structural Fund Policy becomes then a
sort of training ground where new models of governance, in terms of
sustainable management of water utilities, may be tested. The Regions do, in
fact, play a strategic role in the implementation of the objectives of the CSF in
the field of water resources. Such tool does indeed establish criteria, deadlines
and checks for the use of EU funds that, supplementing national and regional
funds, are allocated in a view to putting in place a system of government and
management of water resources likely to guarantee the goal of a “good state”
of waters.
It should be noted that in 2004 the European Commission started a procedure
of infringement against Italy under art. 226 of the EC Treaty for failure in
transposing the Directive into the national juridical order.
Community provisions
Just one introductory remark to start with. The notion of governance that we it
is our intention to explore here overlaps, albeit not totally, the notion
illustrated by the White Paper on European Governance published by the EU
Commission on July 25, 2001.
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