Meloni «I am not signing a decree to now give 1 billion euros to magistrates, my priority for vulnerable groups»

"If the Council of State deems it appropriate, let it appoint the commissioner. Everyone will assume their own responsibilities. But in good conscience I cannot put my signature on a Prime Ministerial Decree with which I would have to allocate almost a billion euros to increases in the salaries of magistrates. It is ten times more than what I am looking for just to address the issue of road transport and prevent the delivery of goods throughout Italy from being blocked". This was said by the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, reached on the telephone by Adnkronos.

"After that - continues the prime minister - if the representative associations want to look for a solution together, I am, as always, ready to listen to them, also because I am convinced that the majority of magistrates understand the situation and the priorities of this moment".

Giorgia Meloni has just returned from a long European Council in Brussels which was largely dedicated to the high cost of fuel and inflation which are weighing on families and businesses. These days, they say, he goes in and out of meetings and summits to find the resources necessary to support those most affected by a global economic crisis: road transport, farmers, fishermen, families. According to estimates, at least 100 million are needed for road transport alone. The government is looking for them item by item, because every euro counts. And at the same time the Prime Minister should sign the Prime Ministerial Decree to follow up on the sentences which establish a new calculation method for the adjustments to the salaries of magistrates and condemn the Government to also pay the arrears: in concrete terms it is estimated at up to around 100 thousand euros, including arrears, for each magistrate, plus the increase of around 20 thousand euros per year for the following years.

But how did we arrive at this monstrous sum? Increases in judges' salaries, unlike other categories, are not decided through negotiations. Every three years they are adjusted by law, taking the increases of other public employees as a reference. The Government makes the calculation based on Istat parameters and sets it with a Prime Ministerial Decree. With the method used to date by previous governments, according to the figures published in these hours, the increases were 4.85% for 2018-2020 and 6.69% for 2021-2023. But the National Association of Magistrates and other associations of magistrates appealed, arguing that the calculation system needed to be revised, and the magistrates of the TAR and the Council of State agreed with them.

So now with the new method, the increases rise to 6.22% and 12.32%, almost double for the last three years. The bill for this recalculation, for the Italian State, would be 979 million euros. In short, a billion euros. The Government, through the State Attorney's Office, appealed. But the TAR and the Council of State found the government wrong and the appellants right. “The actual amounts are far lower than those reported in the newspapers” the ANM explained in recent days. "These are, moreover, salary components due by law, which the administration has failed to pay for years - the ANM further said - Their amount is the direct consequence of the accumulated delays in payment". Now if the Prime Minister does not sign the Council of State, the appointment of an ad acta commissioner is expected. “I don't want to cause controversy - says Meloni - but now in good conscience I don't feel like putting my signature on this provision”.