Italy passes decree expanding commissioners and advancing Strait of Messina Bridge

The Italian Chamber of Deputies approved, with a confidence vote (186‑105‑3), a decree on extraordinary commissioners that had already passed the Senate on 29 April. The law, to be converted by 11 May, updates the financing framework for priority public works and raises the total budget for the Strait of Messina Bridge to €13.5 billion. Supervision of the bridge will shift to the Ministry of Infrastructure rather than a super‑commissioner, and a detailed procedural roadmap for the project’s preliminary phase is set.

The decree also appoints RFI as a railway commissioner to speed up projects such as Brescia‑Verona, Roma‑Pescara and Salerno‑Reggio Calabria, and extends the Gran Sasso water‑system commissioner’s mandate. Opposition parties criticised the use of confidence and the urgency procedure, but the text was confirmed despite their objections.