The first meeting has taken place in Rome of a steering committee assembled under the direction of the Italian Government to oversee preparations and organisation of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games ©Getty Images

The first meeting has taken place in Rome of a steering committee assembled under the direction of the Italian Government to oversee preparations and organisation of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games. 

The Milan Cortina 2026 Supervisory Authority will have the dual mission of monitoring the progress of the works and dealing with any administrative issues that may arise, sportetsociete.org reports.

There were delays to the structural reforms of the Milan Cortina 2026 Organising Committee following the collapse of the previous Government led by Mario Draghi last July.

Following the election as Prime Minister of Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, Andrea Varnier was appointed as the Committee's managing director in November.

A steering committee for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games has been established under the aegis of the Italian Government led by recently-elected Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ©Getty Images
A steering committee for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games has been established under the aegis of the Italian Government led by recently-elected Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ©Getty Images

Varnier was in attendance at the first meeting which gathered figures from the Government and Italian sporting establishment.

Also present were the Under-Secretary of the Presidency, Alfredo Mantovano, the Minister of Sports and Youth, Andrea Abodi, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Giancarlo Giorgetti and the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini.

Giovanni Malago, President of the Games Organising Committee and President of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), was present with the Organising Committee's vice-president and President of the National Paralympic Committee, Luca Pancalli.

In this first meeting at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in the Palazzo Chigi, those involved decided to meet again on February 27, with the additional participation of representatives of the local authorities associated with the 2026 Games.