The autonomous Region of Sardinia

1
The autonomous Region of Sardinia

• Some hints to understand how we are governed and
  administered

2
The Moors are not blind anymore
3
Our flag

• The Sardinian flag is white, with four Moors
  wearing a white band on their forehead. Once it
  used to be on their eyes they are not blind
  anymore because Sardinia is an autonomous region,
  it can have it own laws and self govern the
  territory even if it is not independent, but part
  of the Italian State.

4
Laws

• Laws are made in Rome, at the Italian parliament,
  and all the Italian people, included the
  Sardinians, have to respect them. Only laws
  concerning our island (those referring to
  environment, tourism, agriculture) are made in
  Cagliari by the local government.

5
Autonomy

• For the particular geographical position the
  island needed autonomy as the country in 1861
  (when the unity of Italy was completed) was still
  underdeveloped and scarcely connected to the main
  land. The decentralization of some of the state
  functions to regions was a long procedure but in
  1948 Sardinia, Sicily, Trentino Alto Adige, Valle
  dAosta and Friuli Venezia Giulia (in 1963) were
  decreed specially autonomous regions, with more
  powers in making laws

6
The special Statute

• The relationship between State and Region is
  ruled by the Special Statute approved in 1948.
  According to it Sardinia has a primary competence
  with laws concerning agriculture and tourism,
  planned by the Region but according to Italian
  Constitution, the State organization and of the
  international duties. As for Public Health, the
  State gives general principles and the Region has
  to follow them. It is as if the State made the
  frame and the region the picture to put in it,
  and actually these laws are called frame laws.
  As for education, the region can match state laws
  with the needs of our country.

7
The Council

• The regional councellors are 80 and they are
  elected by the people with universal suffrage,
  with direct, similar and secret vote. It means
  that all citizens over 18 can vote, that they
  give their vote personally and only to one
  candidate. And obviously nobody must know what
  your vote is! The Regional Council is elected
  every 5 years and the period between elections is
  called legislature. The different provinces of
  Sardinia elect 64 councillors proportionally to
  their population, the remaining 16 are elected on
  a regional basis, so there are representatives
  both for provinces and for the region. The
  Regional Council is composed of a central area
  for the Press the side are for the public, while
  the councillors sit in the benches. The President
  sits in front of everybody and under him there
  are the seats of the councillors who make up the
  regional council.

8
The councils men

• The President represents the whole Council he is
  the chairman in debates, makes all councillors
  respect the inner rules and he is a sort of an
  arbiter, so he should be impartial but also
  determined.

• Councillors are divided in groups, according to
  their political ideas they also need to stay
  close to discuss and take decisions more rapidly.
  But there are also mixed groups. There is a
  leader in each group and the President often
  meets the leaders before facing a discussion in
  the Council. When the discussion is a bit too
  noisy the President rings a bell to ask them a
  more peaceful behaviour. If it is impossible to
  debate, the president leaves the Council and the
  sitting is delayed.

9
The votation

• When a bill is voted, the councillors put their
  hands up to express their agreement, sometimes
  they use an electronic board, pushing a red
  button if they want to say no, a green one to say
  yes, a yellow one if they abstain.
• For bills on ordinary laws and rules councillors
  are called by name to express their vote.
• The legislative procedure can be divided into 4
  main steps
• each councillor, the regional council, a group of
  at least 10,000 electors can present a bill
• he bill is examined at first in a proper
  commission, later in an assembly that can accept
  or reject it
• in case of agreement the Government gives its
  approval for passing it, otherwise the bill has
  to be re-examined in the council.
• an approved bill is promulgated by the president
  of the Council and published in the official
  bullettin of the Region

10
Sardinia and the European Parliament

• The Sardinian region uses Communitary funds
  for the economical development of the island in
  order to reduce differences between regions, to
  protect the environment, to abolish inequalities
  and to promote equal opportunities. These funds
  are called structural funds and they are
  planned for 3 main aims Objective 1 for
  regions with a delay in their development
  Objective 2 for the reconversion of industrial,
  rural, or fishing areas Objective 3 for the
  support to employment in the whole European
  union, except for the regions of objective 1.
  Sardinia, together with Basilicata, Calabria,
  Campania, Puglia and Sicilia are included in
  objective 1.

11
Communitary initiatives

• With the regional policy the Community
  aims to reduce differences in the development of
  the regions and the delay in the most disadvanted
  or insular ones, including rural areas, to favour
  a fair development of the whole Community(art,
  158 of the Amsterdam traty). The values at the
  basis of the regional policy in the union are
  solidarity (the regional policy benefits
  socio-economical disadvantaged citizens and
  regions, compared to the average European
  population), and cohesion, as everybody will have
  an advantage in the common welfare.

12
The region and Europe

• Structural funds support the building of streets,
  bridges, highways and airports structures
  connected to education and professional training
  projects concerning small enterprises the
  renewal of degraded urban centres projects to
  help disabled people to integrate in the
  community, projects for the exploitation of
  alternative energy. The union ensures that the
  use of these funds really helps employment, equal
  opportunities between men and women, education
  and professional training, a common policy in
  agriculture, fishing, trnsports, energetical
  sources and environment.

13
Our future
14
This a goodbye

• Dear friends, this is the last task for our
  common project. Its not the last chance for us
  to keep in touch, if we want our mutual knowledge
  can go on in different ways. We hope we can still
  be friends and we know that our English is not so
  good (before the teachers help) but we are sure
  that by now you understand us very well and not
  only through words. So we like to consider it a
  goodbye, not a farewell, wishing to get to know
  each other better and better and, who knows?, to
  meet you all one day. Thank you very much for
  teaching us a lot of things about your country
  and your civilization, thank you very much for
  being our friends, but above all thank you very
  much for helping us to feel European citizens and
  part of the future Community.
• Lots of love
• Your Sardinian friends and the Scuola Media
  G. Pascoli from Assemini