Italy’s highest court greenlights referendum to abolish differentiated autonomy law

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Italian Cassation Court greenlighted a referendum to abolish the differentiated autonomy law, local media reported on Friday.

The court decided that the referendum for the complete abrogation of the government's legislation bringing in “differentiated autonomy “to allow regions to have more power over how the tax revenues collected in their regions are spent, said the state-run ANSA news agency.

The Cassation Court’s decision came after the Constitutional Court declared some parts of the autonomy law illegitimate.

The Constitutional Court is expected to deliver its final verdict in January 2025, the agency announced.

Opposition parties say the law is a threat to national unity and will worsen Italy's north-south divide to the detriment of poorer regions in the south and have collected the signatures necessary for the referendum on abolishing the law.