Sardinia and Sicily
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Sicily and Sardinia are the two biggest and most populated islands in the Mediterranean Sea, surpassing Cyprus by a long way even though the latter is an EU Member State. While Sicily takes the crown in terms of surface area and population, Sardinia, Italy’s most ancient land, boasts the most developed coastline in the whole country. The two islands are different in a number of ways, including geographically and culturally, and both have a strong identity and rich history dating back to antiquity. However, they have suffered many setbacks as a result of being islands, in the transport sector for example, and this has translated into slow economic growth.
Examples of projects and initiatives supported by the EU
Promotion and communication actions through the Sardinia airport system
Sardinia’s airport system (Cagliari, Alghero, Olbia), which is essential for tourism, has benefited from two major promotion and communication projects that aim, for example, to draw tourists’ attention to new reasons to travel and to extend the tourist season. Out of a budget of about EUR 20 million, almost half was financed by the EU.
Port of Messina, Tremestieri logistics platform with port call
The European Union has contributed to the development of the Sicilian port system by financing several projects to modernise the island’s ports. For example, works to set up a logistics platform in Tremestieri at the Port of Messina received a contribution of just under EUR 30 million.
Sardinia business emergency fund
In the wake of the pandemic and COVID-19 containment measures, urgent support was provided for the Sardinian production system through the ‘Fondo Emergenza Imprese Sardegna’ (‘Sardinia Company Emergency Fund’). Its loans and grants have helped in the economic recovery of business activities. The European Union contributed EUR 60 million or 40 % of the total budget.
Idmar - Multidisciplinary laboratory on the sea
EU funding of EUR 15 million has financed Europe’s largest multidisciplinary laboratory for marine scientific and technological research in Sicily. The Idmar project is a research infrastructure consisting of terrestrial nodes and submarine nodes, cabled and battery-powered, with detection instruments installed at a depth of 3 500 metres.
- Further information
Autonomous Region of Sardinia | Europe, https://sardegnaeuropa.regione.sardegna.it/
Autonomous Region of Sicily | Europe, http://www.euroinfosicilia.it/
European Parliament Liaison Office in Italy, https://rome.europarl.europa.eu/it
EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service , http://www.epthinktank.eu/