Italy's NRRP has 'Green soul' von der Leyen tells ANSA

(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 30 - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised the environmental credentials of Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) but stressed that now comes the hard part of implementing it in an interview with ANSA on Friday.
    "Italy's NRRP has an authentic green soul," von der Leyen said, "37% of the Next Generation EU Italia (funding) will support the Green transition.
    "But now the investments and reforms envisaged in the plan must become reality".
    Italy is getting the biggest single chunk of the EU's 750-billion-euro Next Generation EU recovery fund.
    Italy will spend around 248 billion to make the country greener and more modern as it recovers from its biggest peacetime recession as part of the NRRP.
    Around 191.5 billion euros of that money is coming from grants and low-interest loans allocated through the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
    Reforms to cut red tape and speed up a snail-paced justice system will go hand in hand with the plan.
    Von der Leyen described the Next Generation EU programme as "an authentic Green Marshall Plan" that will "give life to new markets and open the doors to gigantic economic opportunities for Europe and Italy.
    "Over 500 billion euros will be devoted to Green and digital projects throughout the EU," she added. (ANSA).