Mayor cites overwhelming capacity in registering an average of 1,6 Italian citizenship applications per month.

The administration of Gazzo Veronese, in Veneto, seems to have reached its operational limit: registering fewer than two Italian citizenships per month. Mayor Stefano Negrini stated to... Regional Administrative Court (TAR) that the flow of 20 annual processes from Brazilians is sufficient for "block all municipal practices" and demand the exclusive dedication of its employees.

The justification of "objective difficulties" was presented to explain why the city hall ignored, for months, a final ruling recognizing citizenship issued by the Venice court. With a population of 5.000, the municipality claims that the complexity of transcribing two birth or marriage certificates every 30 days jeopardizes the functioning of local government.

Negrini did not hide his irritation with the rights of descendants. The mayor categorically stated that Brazilians "arrive a minute later" in the priority line, justifying the administrative neglect by the fact that applicants seek registration only to obtain a passport and "travel the world."

Judicial ultimatum

Despite the mayor's outburst, the courts did not accept the paralysis. At the end of December, the TAR (Regional Administrative Court) set a 90-day deadline for Gazzo Veronese to fulfill his legal obligations. If the city continues to consider the average of 1,6 cases per month an unbearable burden, a commissioner appointed by the government will be sent to carry out the work in place of the municipal employees.

The court, in a gesture of understanding towards the alleged administrative weakness, decided not to impose financial penalties on the municipality. The judges cited the crisis in Italian public finances to spare the municipal treasury from penalties for the delay in registering the 20 annual processes.

For Negrini, the problem is not the paltry number of registrations, but what they represent. According to the mayor, dedicating time to people who “have never been and will never be seen” in the city is a waste of resources, even though Italian law obliges the municipality of origin of the ancestor to carry out the service.

O Syndic He also criticized the claimants' pursuit of their rights through the courts. "If these people are not satisfied," he says, "they appeal to the Regional Administrative Court, also congesting the courts. This doesn't solve the problem, it only transfers it. In the end, it creates a vicious cycle that harms everyone."