European Economic Affairs Commissioner
Paolo Gentiloni said at the Cernobbio annual international
brainstorming session Saturday that he was not worried about the
possibility of Italy missing out on its third, 19 billion euro
tranche for the massive post-COVID National Recovery and
Resilience Plan (NRRP) aimed at making the economy Greener and
more modern by 2026.
European Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto admitted last week that
delays meant the government was behind schedule for the 2026
deadline, stoking fears it would not claim the third tranche,
whose issuance date was put off till the end of last December.
Italy is also trying to tweak the NRRP to take into account the
Ukraine war and the cost of living crisis, and Gentiloni said
Saturday in Cernobbio there could be some wiggle room on this.
On the Pnrr "I am optimistic" and "I am not worried at all about
the disbursement requested at the end of December, I think that
the points that are still to be clarified will be clarified and
I see great goodwill on the part of the government", said
Gentiloni when asked whether the third instalment for Italy of
19 billion was at risk.
But 'decisions are taken when the Commission gives a favourable
opinion and this will happen within a very few weeks,' he added
on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Workshop.
"There is certainly a margin" to renegotiate the terms of the
NRP, and "when the amendment proposals from the Italian side
arrive, the Commission is ready to examine them with maximum
cooperation and flexibility.
"We have already approved the revision of plans for three
countries, Luxembourg Germany and Finland, of course they were
plans in relation to the economy of these countries less
important than the plan of Italy, Spain, Romania and Portugal:
countries where the plan is very important," he added.
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