Italy's future beyond 2026 depends on NRRP says Mattarella

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 6 - Italy's future beyond 2026 depends on the full and proper implementation of the huge EU-funded post-COVID National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), President Sergio Mattarella told the first festival of the regions in Monza on Tuesday.
    The deadline for the enactment of the NRRP is 2026, but its transformative effects will be felt well beyond that, he said.
    "The NRRP, the result of the initiative of the Government and Parliament and shared with the European Commission, indicates objectives, in terms of reforms and investments, to which the future of the country is linked well beyond the deadline for the implementation of the Plan, set, as we know, at 2026," said the president to the governors of Italy's regions and autonomous provinces.
    With the NRRP, Mattarella added, Italy has made a commitment with the EU that must be honoured.
    "The massive funding provided by the EU Commission is precisely intended to accelerate the country's infrastructure by bridging the gaps, starting from that between the North and the South.
    Challenges of this magnitude require the convergent commitment of institutions and all political and social forces. A commitment that we have made in the European forum and which must, of course, be honoured," he said.
    Mattarella went on to stress that cooperation on the NRRP was in everyone's interest.
    "Appropriately, Governor Fedriga called the NRRP 'an extraordinary moment of potential development of our country'.
    And (he voiced) the willingness of the Conference (of Regions) to contribute to the implementation of the Plan by favouring the integration of all public policies and the homogeneous development of local areas. Loyal collaboration and readiness for dialogue, talks for collaboration and cooperation that the regions are demonstrating must be embraced by all in the interest of Italy". (ANSA).