1972: Second Statute of Autonomy for South Tyrol

After many rounds of negotiation, the Italian government presented a package of measures in 1966 that would be implemented as an extension of the first Statute of Autonomy of 1948 and guarantee the autonomy of South Tyroleans. In order for the 137 measures to be implemented, implementation regulations, a so-called calendar of operations, were negotiated in the following years. The final point in this calendar of operations was the one in which Austria would declare the end of the conflict. The final hurdle for the acceptance of the package and calendar of operations was approval by the National Assembly of the South Tyrolean People’s Party. By a small margin, the delegates voted in favour of adopting in November 1969. By modifying the first Statute of Autonomy in favour of the new one in November 1971, a political solution to the South Tyrol problem was in sight.

On January 20, 1972, the second Statute of Autonomy went into effect. Many responsibilities were now transferred from the region to the two autonomous provinces of Bolzano and Trento. The most important of which were: subsidised housing, roads, communication and transportation, acquisition of public services, tourism and hospitality, agriculture and forestry, hydraulic structures, kindergarten and school construction. Implementation of the second Stature of Autonomy took about two decades. On June 11, 1992, Austria and Italy filed the deed of discharge at the United Nations Organisation (UNO), signalling settlement of the dispute.