Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
SYRACUSE – The legal earthquakes linked to the “Nexus” inquiry – conducted by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) into the management of Italy’s EU-funded recovery plan (PNRR) funds for the migrant hostel in Cassibile and various public contracts in Syracuse – have definitively ignited the city’s political debate.
The Syracuse progressive coalition, united under the Next Gen banner (which brings together Green Left Alliance, Alternativa Libera, Civico 4, Controcorrente, Italia Viva, Lealtà e Condivisione, the Five Star Movement, the Democratic Party and Sinistra Futura), has called a press conference for tomorrow, Wednesday 21 October at 10am, at the Pio La Torre Centre in piazza Santa Lucia, to outline its official position and the institutional actions it intends to take.
“A network of relationships that goes beyond criminal responsibility”
In a joint statement released by the coalition’s leaders, the left and civic forces highlight the seriousness of the picture emerging from the investigations and the precautionary measures carried out in recent days.
“The inquiry raises a political issue that goes far beyond individual criminal responsibilities,” the Next Gen representatives said. “The elements that have emerged reveal a worrying scenario in which the awarding of public works, the systematic use of below-threshold procedures and direct awards, and the relationships between politics and business interests may have been bent to serve interests alien to the common good. We need to understand whether we are facing a system capable of permanently influencing the choices of the municipal administration and the Free association of municipalities (the former province).”
The progressives also point the finger at what they describe as the “political transformism” of the administration led by mayor Francesco Italy: “In the background there is a political assessment of what has happened in Syracuse since mayor Italy built a political axis with leading figures from the centre-right and pseudo-civic movements.”
Administration under fire: censure motion launched
While respecting the presumption of innocence guaranteed by law for all those under investigation, Next Gen stresses that the safeguards of due process cannot absolve political forces from taking immediate responsibility to uphold transparency and legality in administrative action.
During tomorrow’s press conference, the coalition will officially announce the institutional countermeasures it will bring to the chamber. Among these is the censure motion tabled by the Democratic Party’s council group, which will be placed on the agenda of the next available Municipal council meeting in Syracuse.
