Dialogue with Italy on NRRP constructive - EC spokesperson

(see related) (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 3 - "Constructive exchanges are ongoing" with Italy on the release by Brussels of the third installment of funding for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), a European Commission spokesperson said Saturday.
    "The Italian authorities will provide further information as necessary," the spokesperson added.
    "As a general rule, we do not comment on draft national legislation," he said in relation to the decision by the government to strip the Italian Audit Court of its 'concomitant' oversight powers on implementation of the NRRP.
    The regulation governing use of the EU's recovery fund - the centrepiece of Next Generation EU underpinning the NRRP scheme - "requires a control framework that tailored and proportionate to its unique nature as an EU spending programme," the spokesperson added.
    On Thursday European Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said the third installment of EU funds for the NRRP, worth 19 billion euros, would arrive shortly.
    The former Italian premier said the funds would arrive "promptly and when they have been received Italy will have had half of the funds allocated".
    He added: "On the NRRP we are ready to cooperate and make the implementation of the plan as easy as possible. We are waiting for the proposals to arrive." So far Italy has received just over 66 million euros under the plan to make the Italian economy greener and more modern, via projects funded with the help of EU grants and low-interest loans on condition that all agreed targets are met by 2026.
    (ANSA).