Fitto to meet regional governors to 'optimize synergies' on EU funds

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 29 - European Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto was set to meet with eight regional governors on Monday in order to "optimize possible synergies" between the 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 European Union (EU) cohesion policy programming cycles and the EU-funded post-Covid National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), the ministry said in a statement.
    The aim of the collaboration is to "correct the errors of the past and focus on the strategic interventions that might enable Italy to align itself to the level it deserves and that Europe requires of us," according to the statement.
    On Sunday Premier Giorgia Meloni said in an interview that Italy is on schedule to enact the NRRP to make the Italian economy greener and more modern, which has reportedly got bogged down in delays.
    "We are on schedule", said Meloni.
    "Our plan is the largest in Europe, and a review of it requires careful verification to avoid the risk of doing things hastily and badly,"" she added. "The deadline for proposing changes is 31 August 2023 and (European Affairs Minister Raffaele) Fitto is working with the European Commission and the individual administrations to ensure the full implementation of the interventions," Meloni said.
    Italy has been assigned the largest single chunk of the recovery fund, almost 200 billion euros, in grants and low-interest loans, whose issuance is conditional on enacting a set of key structural reforms and other schemes like boosting the health system and building new schools and nurseries by the deadline in 2026.
    To date, Italy has received 66.9 billion euros in two installments and the "assessment work" of the European Commission on Italy's third payment request for 19 billion euros "is still ongoing", a spokesperson for the EU executive said on Sunday. (ANSA).