From GDP per capita to female employment, Italy often ranks at the bottom of European comparisons in international statistics. Chronic delays in some areas are within the reach of cohesion policies, which, even during the next European legislative session, will have to help Europe reduce gaps.
Statistics measure progress and distance, and it is unfortunate that Italy – and some Italian provinces – often appear to be trailing Europe at different speeds. The bitter certainty that we find ourselves at the bottom of the European averages, or in any case below the European averages, often forces public discussion to focus on the need to do something.
Some of the historical performances have sometimes proven to be an excuse for governments that are unable to find the way to our country’s growth. When the data has been regularly negative in recent years, the response has often been: “Italy has always been in last place, and it certainly does not depend on this government.”
However, there is one last and final thing: the gap compared to the rest of Europe is sometimes recoverable, in others it has narrowed considerably over time, and in other circumstances it has turned into a chronic lag. The data provided by the European Commission every year in the maps of the latest Cohesion Report allow us to measure the distance between our country and the European average, region by region.
“Internet trailblazer. Travelaholic. Passionate social media evangelist. Tv advocate.”
