Strasbourg, 06/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - An EU-funded project for restoration of the historic site of Pompeii, Italy, was inaugurated on Wednesday 6 February by Commissioner Johannes Hahn. The work of preserving this outstanding tourist site is exemplary in that various measures have been taken to ensure that European funds are not misappropriated by organised crime, and more especially by the Camorra.
In order to prevent the €41.8 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) being deviated from its initial purpose, a special “prefetto” from the Italian Ministry of the Interior has been designated to oversee security and the legal side of the project from beginning to end. Organised crime is a scourge in the region of Campania where the restoration work is to take place. The Commission trusts that the emphasis placed on using the European funds with integrity will be emulated in the region, and in the rest of Italy also. Restoration work aims to ensure Pompeii, not far from Naples, remains a tourist attraction after severe damage done to the archaeological site by torrential rainfall in 2011. Currently around 2.3 million visitors come to Pompeii each year. It is expected that, with restoration of the site, that should increase by at least 300,000 with huge direct and indirect benefits for the region in terms of jobs and spin-off commercial activities. Commissioner Hahn therefore takes the view that this is an opportunity “not just to help save something which is part of Europe's cultural identity but to revitalise Campania's economy by attracting more visitors and creating new jobs”. (MD/transl.jl)