Article 18 of Legislative Decree no. 201 of 23 December last, regulates partnership relations with third sector entities in the following terms: "In implementation of the principles of solidarity and horizontal subsidiarity, local authorities can activate partnership relations with third sector entities, regulated by the legislative decree 3 July 2017, n. 117, for the realization of specific service or intervention projects functionally attributable to the local public service of economic importance. The choice ... must be justified, in the context of the relationship referred to in article 14, paragraph 3, with specific reference to the existence of the circumstances which, in the concrete case, determine the effectively collaborative nature of the relationship and to the actual benefits that this solution entails for the achievement of the objectives of universality, solidarity and budget balance, in compliance with the principles of transparency, impartiality, participation and equal treatment. The provisions of this article do not apply in cases where the public resources to be made available to third sector entities are, overall considered, higher than the reimbursement of variable, fixed and long-term costs envisaged for the purpose of executing the partnership relationship ”.
