Italy ranks second among 27 European countries in terms of progress in the implementation of Pnrr projects. In the foreground, there is only Spain which is the only country to receive the disbursement of the third installment from the European Commission on March 31. Spain received 28 billion euros in three installments, while Italy received 42 billion euros in two installments and is awaiting the disbursement of the third installment of 19 billion euros, which will raise the total to 61 billion euros.
In Germany we are at zero premium
Behind Italy is Greece, which has already received two installments of Pnrr (€7.2 billion) and requested a third installment, but five months after Italy’s formal request in Brussels. Portugal, Croatia and Slovakia also received the second batch of Pnrr, but none of the three countries submitted for the third batch. Twelve countries – including Austria, France, Luxembourg and Denmark – have received only the first tranche so far and nine have not yet requested a second tranche. Finally, nine countries – including Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Ireland – are still waiting for the first payment to be disbursed.
The third installment, however, has been a long wait
the data The post on the website of the European Commission itself thus says that the controversy over Italy’s alleged delays in implementing the Pnrr is not justified. The only anomaly in fact is the very long time the European Commission assesses the validity of the 55 targets achieved for the third tranche. The request for funding was sent on December 30, 2022 by the government of Giorgia Meloni but based on documents largely issued under the instructions of the Mario Draghi government (which set all 55 goals). The maximum time it took for the committee to approve the disbursement of any installment of Pnrr to any country was 5 months. In the case of the third Italian installment, we are already in the advanced seventh month.
Draghi’s confession
There was more than one problem with the third batch that was put to paper by Draghi and then-Economics Minister Daniele Franco in the first version of the NADV system that Meloni’s government inherited in September 2022. On that occasion, the outgoing government admitted that it found much more difficulty with Pnrr than expected. Draghi and Franco explained: “The amount of resources actually spent on Pnrr projects during this year will be lower than the projections presented in Defense due to the delayed start-up of some projects which reflects, in addition to the adjustment times to the innovative measures of Pnrr, the effects of higher public works costs.”
The alleged gift to Melonie
For this reason, Realizing that he could not achieve the targets set for 2022, Draghi tried to make it better by saying that the money his government did not spend could have been spent more in 2023 with more GDP benefit in one year than otherwise. It could have been a recession: “Next year,” he wrote, “GDP growth will benefit from the postponement of a large portion of Pnrr’s investments originally scheduled for 2022.” Then the then prime minister figuratively spread his weapon: “The concrete implementation of Pnrr projects is proving complex. This stems from the fact that many highly innovative projects are being undertaken through the preparation of calls for tenders. Tenders take a long time to be implemented and the planned expenditures for 2022 will inevitably be paid towards the years 2023-2026, which is the period in which the largest economic effects of economic growth rates are expected to occur.
Beck on the dorms
The problem of the third installment stems specifically from the delays decided by the previous government. And also from the point that should have been achieved in 2022 which instead seems far from what was promised, as understood by student protests last spring. “Through the use,” Draghi and Franco write, “of the resources already foreseen for the Pnrr, the ‘University Housing Fund’ has been established, with the aim of obtaining the availability of new beds for students of higher education institutions.” According to the first checks carried out by EC technicians, it is precisely this fund that causes the problem, because in about ten verified cases, the money from the fund could have been used to obtain beds already used by students, and therefore they are not “new” as indicated instead from it to the task.
Read also:
“Freelance social media evangelist. Organizer. Certified student. Music maven.”
