Interim decree (Article 35-bis(4) of Legislative Decree 25/2008) · N.R.G. 14126-1/2026
Unofficial translation of the SOS Patto summary. The original decision or document is available in Italian only.
Headnote
The expression “lodged” in Article 79(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 has a technical meaning that does not coincide with the expression of the wish to apply (Article 26) or with registration (Article 27): the Regulation applies to all applications lodged from 12 June 2026, irrespective of the time at which the wish to apply was expressed, and Article 17(4) of Decree-Law 100/2026, which anchors the transition to “submission”, conflicts with that criterion. Nor does the temporal criterion depend on whether the lodging was regular, defects in which matter only as regards the procedural consequences. The principle of the protection of legitimate expectations nevertheless requires neutralising the prejudicial effects of a delay attributable solely to the administration: a person who expressed the wish to apply before 12 June 2026 could rely on the application being lodged within the time limits of the previous rules, and had that occurred the application would have remained subject to those rules. Once those time limits have passed, the principle of Court of Cassation, Joint Chambers (Sezioni Unite), no. 11399/2024 applies again: the derogation from suspensive effect presupposes the correct and timely conduct of the accelerated procedure, and the appeal automatically suspends the enforceability of the contested measure.
The Tribunal of Bologna (judge Luca Minniti) finds that the appeal has suspended the enforceability of the rejection as manifestly unfounded and declares that there is no need to rule on the request for interim relief. The appellant had expressed the wish to apply on 12 March 2026; the application was lodged with form C3 on 6 July 2026, according to the schedule set by the administration, and the Commission applied Regulation (EU) 2024/1348.
The decree starts from the “unequivocal wording”: “lodged” (introduites in the French version) refers to the stage of Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, distinct from the application made (Article 26) and registered (Article 27). The Regulation therefore applies to all applications lodged from 12 June 2026, “irrespective of the time at which the applicant expressed his or her wish”. Article 17(4) of Decree-Law 100/2026 “flagrantly conflicts” with that provision, and the national rule must be read in the light of the EU one, not the other way round.
The judge shares neither the reading of Trib. Napoli 17179-1/2026, according to which Article 79(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 would not govern an application submitted before and lodged after 12 June, nor that of the decree of the same Tribunal of 15 September 2026 (R.G. 12956-1/2026), which requires a lodging that complies with the Regulation: the transitional rule refers to “a historical fact”, and defects in the lodging affect the procedural consequences, not the regime applicable.
The corrective lies elsewhere. Following Trib. Bologna 12908-1/2026 and Trib. Firenze 11120/2026, the decree holds that the effects of Article 79(3) must be tempered “not to modify the criterion laid down for the transitional regime but only to deprive the rule of its abnormal prejudicial effects”, where they depend on the timetable unilaterally set by the administration. The applicant could rely on the application being lodged within the previous nine-day time limit (Article 28-bis(2) of Legislative Decree 25/2008): had it been complied with, the application would have remained subject to the previous rules.
Since that time limit had already expired on 12 June, the principle of Court of Cassation, Joint Chambers (Sezioni Unite), no. 11399/2024 applies: the derogation from automatic suspensive effect presupposes the correct and timely conduct of the accelerated procedure.
On the premise, the decree conflicts with Trib. Bologna 13060-1/2026, which holds Article 17(4) of Decree-Law 100/2026 to be compatible with the Regulation; the outcome is the same.
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