Crans-Montana: Italy will not pay, says Italian ambassador
Keystone-SDA
The Italian ambassador to Switzerland, says “Italy will never pay [the] bills” of the victims of the Crans-Montana fire tragedy.
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“We will pay the bill for the two Swiss hospitalised at the Niguarda [hospital in Milan], because Italy saves lives free of charge”, Gian Lorenzo Cornado told the Quarta Repubblica programme, as relayed by the askanews news agency.
But as for the bills sent to the Italian health ministry by Switzerland: “We won’t pay them: that’s a certainty, and neither will the families, of course.”
On Friday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the request as “despicable”, saying that Italy would not pay them.
On Friday, the Swiss canton of Valais said it would waive bills for Italian patients hospitalised in its hospitals.
CHF120,000 for one day
The bill for the hospitalisation of four young Italians in Sion “for a single day” amounts to more than CHF120,000, according to the Italian ambassador. These costs are then paid to the Italian Ministry of Health via the mechanism provided for by European regulations, he added.
Switzerland should refrain from asking Italy for reimbursement, because it bears an “overwhelming moral responsibility” for the fire at the Constellation bar on New Year’s Eve, which left 41 people dead and 115 injured, said the diplomat.
“You can’t treat the massacre in Crans-Montana like a car accident”, he said, pointing to the failure to comply with fire laws and the lack of controls.
In his view, there is a solution that would allow the two countries to waive each other’s claims for reimbursement: article 35 of European Regulation 883 of 2004.
“Italy is already prepared to do this, as it will not ask for a single euro for the months of care provided to the two young Swiss. That’s what Switzerland has to do. It’s a question of ethics. It’s a question of reciprocity.”
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Crans-Montana: Switzerland waives hospital fees for Italian fire patients
Translated from French with AI/mga
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