Description
Since 2001, regional autonomy has been affected by important reforms that have deepened or limited its exercise according to political and economic contingencies. It was at the beginning of the millennium that the statutory system of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol underwent its first significant changes: Constitutional Law No. 2 of 2001 reformed the electoral system, transferring competence from the Region to the Provinces.
Thus, for the first time, in 2003, Trentino men and women found themselves voting directly for the office of President of the Autonomous Province of Trento, while the Regional Council was transformed into a second-degree body made up of the sum of the two independently elected Provincial Councils in Trentino and South Tyrol/Südtirol. The role of the Provinces is therefore strengthened, allowing for example a different compulsory period of residence to exercise the right to vote (1 year in the Province of Trento, 4 in the Province of Bolzano) and confirming the mandatory proportional system for the Province of Bolzano alone.
Also in 2001, Constitutional Law No. 3 profoundly changed the relations between State and Regions in a federalist sense, redefining the legislative and administrative powers entrusted to the latter. The reform of Title V of the Constitution mainly concerned the ordinary Regions, but the provisions contained therein also provided for the need to adapt the Statutes of the special Regions to the new principles.
Finally, important innovations for Trentino-South Tyrolean autonomy concern the financial system. Since 1989, the Italian State and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano have agreed on the division of the shares of tax revenues destined to finance autonomous competences. The 'Milan pact' signed with the government in 2009 intervened in this matter, abolishing fixed and variable quotas and stipulating that 9/10 of the tax revenues produced in the territory remain there.
This framework subsequently underwent corrections in the face of the difficult economic situation and the necessary public finance manoeuvres to restore the state budget. In 2014, Rome signed a 'guarantee pact' with Trento and Bolzano to set the state's obligations towards the autonomous provinces and to regulate their financial relations.
Finally, the Vaia storm and the Coronavirus pandemic have posed important questions concerning the future of autonomy: the management of the territory in the light of climate change, as well as the health crisis produced by an epidemic, call for reflection and action to prevent risks and mitigate the most destructive effects of global phenomena.
