Meloni says clear delays in NRRP, contradicting Draghi

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 5 - Prospective next Italian premier Giorgia Meloni said Wednesday there were clear delays in the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) which would be blamed on her government by those ho had caused them.
    Her statement directly contradicted one made minutes previously by outgoing Premier Mario Draghi.
    "We inherit a difficult situation: the delays in the NRRP are evident and hard to make up for and we are aware that it will be a failure that will not be down to us but which will be attributed to us also by those who determined it," Meloni told the first post-election meeting of the executive of her rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party.
    Draghi said he was confident Meloni's administration would enact the plan with the same effectiveness his had, stressing that there were "no delays" in its enactment.
    "The government has adopted all the measures necessary to favour an effective implementation of the Plan. Now it is up to the next government to continue the work of implementation, and I'm certain that it will be carried out with the same force and efficacy".
    Draghi said the challenge facing Meloni would be implementing a new chapter of the NRRP to tackle the energy crisis.
    "The REPowerEU Plan, designed to ensure energy autonomy from Russia with the insertion of a new chapter in the national NRRPs, represents the challenge for the next few months," he said.
    The plan is a "unique opportunity" to boost Italy's international credibility, Draghi said in opening a meeting of the 'control room' on the plan's implementation Wednesday.
    "The NRRP is a unique opportunity to relaunch Italy, to overcome territorial, gender and generational inequalities that are weighing on the country," said Draghi.
    "Its full implementation is fundamental for our credibility - towards our citizens and our international partners.
    "We must keep the pledges we have made and, in order to do that, we need everyone's support".
    Draghi said there were "no delays" in the plan's implementation.
    He said that if there were, the European Commission would not keep on issuing the money for the plan, which will amount to nearly 200 billion euros once completed.
    The issuance of the funds by the EC is conditional upon the achievement of 'milestone' targets.
    Italy is currently ahead of schedule in enacting the NRRP, according to government sources.
    Keeping that pace up will be one of the main challenges facing lMeloni's incoming government, experts say. (ANSA).