Not worried about NRRP delay says Gentiloni

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 1 - European Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said at the Cernobbio annual international brainstorming session Saturday that he was not worried about the possibility of Italy missing out on its third, 19 billion euro tranche for the massive post-COVID National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) aimed at making the economy Greener and more modern by 2026.
    European Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto admitted last week that delays meant the government was behind schedule for the 2026 deadline, stoking fears it would not claim the third tranche, whose issuance date was put off till the end of last December.
    Italy is also trying to tweak the NRRP to take into account the Ukraine war and the cost of living crisis, and Gentiloni said Saturday in Cernobbio there could be some wiggle room on this.
    On the Pnrr "I am optimistic" and "I am not worried at all about the disbursement requested at the end of December, I think that the points that are still to be clarified will be clarified and I see great goodwill on the part of the government", said Gentiloni when asked whether the third instalment for Italy of 19 billion was at risk.
    But 'decisions are taken when the Commission gives a favourable opinion and this will happen within a very few weeks,' he added on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Workshop.
    "There is certainly a margin" to renegotiate the terms of the NRP, and "when the amendment proposals from the Italian side arrive, the Commission is ready to examine them with maximum cooperation and flexibility.
    "We have already approved the revision of plans for three countries, Luxembourg Germany and Finland, of course they were plans in relation to the economy of these countries less important than the plan of Italy, Spain, Romania and Portugal: countries where the plan is very important," he added. (ANSA).