32 seconds to 10 million euros. Italians were really close
Vicenza will not receive money from the Italian Regional Operational Program. They were literally seconds away from 10 million euros. The local government sent their application too late, and the matter ended up in court, which made a decision on the case.
6:31 AM EDT, October 23, 2023
The authorities of the city of Vicenza in Italy lost the opportunity to receive 10 million euros (about 11.7 million dollars) from the Italian national recovery plan because their application for funding was sent 32 seconds late.
The administrative court sided with the Ministry of Agriculture and the national agency for investment and enterprise development, which did not accept the application. The local newspaper "Corriere del Veneto" reported on this situation.
The court explains when it is "zero minute"
The judges, in their verdict, explained that the "zero minute of a given hour strikes in the last second of the 59th minute of the previous hour".
This rationale was used by them to justify the decision to reject the application. The administrative court, despite the appeal filed by the city administration, maintained its decision. The city authorities tried to obtain funds from the Italian reconstruction plan, which were supposed to be allocated for the renovation and reconstruction of fruit and vegetable markets.
32 seconds of delay
According to the requirements, the documentation had to be submitted by 6 AM on November 30th of last year. Unfortunately, the city board was 32 seconds late. After the application was rejected, a legal battle over seconds began.
The city authorities argued that the Ministry of Agriculture and the agency operating under the finance department only provided the hour and minute when the deadline for submitting the application elapsed, but did not provide the seconds. However, the court did not accept this argument. The authorities of Vicenza announced that they will appeal this decision.
