APCOM

In the last few weeks Ecopass, the congestion charge Milano's drivers must pay to enter the city center which was launched on January 2nd 2008, has been collecting positive consents by foreign press. This is the overview of an analysis carried out by the observatory 'Nathan Il Saggio', which monitors the most important foreign newspapers and archives all the articles concerning Italy.

According to German daily paper Bild, the tax for cars is a 'key initiative which has already been realized successfully in Stuttgart, Cologne, Mannheim, Hanover and Berlin'. The French Les Echos talks about the enhancement of public transport, which is increasingly preferred to private cars by the people of Milan. Ecopass is very discussed in England, the center of this kind of charge's revolution: in London a similar tax was created five years ago by Mayor Ken Livingstone. The Daily Telegraph underlines that Milano is often remembered as the capital of pollution more than that of fashion: however, although the problem's solution is still far, the British newspaper claims the importance of such an experiment. The Times predicts the extension of the payment system to a bigger area of London in case of Livingstone's re-election.

As for the US press, Usa Today reports that in London the charge has reduced the traffic by 26% and the New York Times foresees the project's application in many cities all around the world. However, not everyone agrees with these plans: Die Presse (Austria) points out that Wien and Gratz don't intend to follow the example of nearby Nations.