by Kate Holman in Brussels
The European Union is to invest millions of euros fighting organised crime in the south of Italy. Some 91 million euros will go to redevelop lands seized from convicted Mafiosi, turning them into agricultural co-operatives, agri-tourism ventures, gardens and recreational centres.
“One of the major impediments to economic development in parts of the Mezzogiorno is the all-pervading shadow of organised crime”, said regional policy commissioner Pawel Samecki this week. The EU is also funding a Security for Development programme to clamp down on organised crime in Calabria, Campania, Apulia and Sicily, where the Mafia, ’Ndrangheta and Camorra still control much of the economy.
Successful ventures on former mob territories are already providing jobs, especially for young people, in areas where youth unemployment reaches 36 per cent – proof, according to the European Commission, that Italy’s confiscation policy is paying dividends.
But anti-Mafia MEP Rosario Crocetta, former mayor of the Sicilian town of Gela, warned of current moves in the Italian parliament to allow confiscated land to be sold off. He said: “It must be clear that goods acquired illegally are to return to collective use, for social purposes. We have to avoid resale, because that will allow the Mafia to get them back again.”
Mr Crocetta thinks governments are failing to recognise how criminal gangs are extending their activities outside Italy. He welcomed the investment, but called for new laws to authorise confiscation across Europe and to make Mafia association a specific offence. “When you take away their money, you take away their main instrument of power. I believe that the whole of Europe has to get involved and be more active. There’s still a lot to do.”
