A massive row has broken out between Italy and the EU over a concert by Elton John which took place in Naples in September 2009. The concert, in the city’s Piazza Plebiscito, drew an audience of 100,000 and was shown live on television. It was part of a Festival to promote Naples and money from the European Regional Development Fund was used to organise it.
The European Commission, however, deems this an inappropriate use of the money, which was intended for “structural long-term regional investment” and not for one-off events. On Friday the Commission sent letters to both the Italian Ministry of Finance and to the Governor of the Campania region, telling Italy that it will have to pay back the €720,000 [£617,585 or $991,452] – part of a grant to the Campania region – used to organise the concert. European Member of Parliament Marco Borghezio of the Northern League has called the use of the money for the concert “criminal”.
Defenders of the concert say it was a marketing operation for Naples and that it helped promote the city’s culture.
