Rome, 16 January 2025 – Regarding the appeal to the Regional Administrative Court filed by the municipalities of Reggio Calabria and Villa San Giovanni, Stretto di Messina CEO Pietro Ciucci said that the news about the appeal’s eligibility is untrue.

“The reconstruction of the facts,” said Mr Ciucci, “is totally at odds with what happened during the hearing. In particular, contrary to reports, the lawyer instructed by the two municipalities waived the request for an injunction that he himself had earlier applied for. This led the President of the Chamber to strike off the case from the roll. The assertion that the Regional Administrative Court “declared the challenge to the EIA-SEA Committee’s opinion to be admissible”, and that it did not accept the motion submitted by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Stretto di Messina, is untrue.
“In procedural terms,” continued Mr Ciucci, “the plaintiffs have withdrawn their application for an injunction, which will lead the Regional Administrative Court to schedule a new hearing on the merits of the case.”
“No motion presented by the Ministry or the Company has been rejected. On the contrary, the plaintiffs decision to withdraw their application for an injunction confirms the validity of the objection raised by the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Company regarding the lack of grounds for a request for an urgent injunction halting effectiveness of the EIA opinion,” Mr Ciucci concluded.