Willing to fund first phase of Messina Bridge - EU

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 5 - The European Union is willing to fund the first phase of the long-awaited and controversial Messina Bridge project to link Sicily to the Italian mainland, European Transport Commissioner Adina Valean said Monday answering a question on talks with Italian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini.
    "We have not only discussed the inclusion" of the bridge over the Strait of Messina in the Ten-T, "which was already there, I know it is very important for the Italian government, but we also discussed the next steps and we made ourselves available," she told reporters.
    "We are waiting for a solid project to finance the first feasibility phase and then the project will start.
    "Apart from having an intention, you have to have a phase of preparation and then be ready for the actual construction," she pointed out. (ANSA).