Italy's recovery from the economic earthquake caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be "slower than forecast" next year, Eugenio Gaiotti, the head of the Bank of Italy's economic and statistics department, told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday.
Gaiotti told the House and Senate budget committees that, with Italy enduring the second wave of the coronavirus, "a drop in GDP is plausible" in the fourth quarter of 2020, "although more contained than in the spring.
"It is probable that the result for the year (of 2020 as a whole) will anyway be in line with that forecast in October".
Gaiotti also spoke about the use of the funds Italy will get from the EU's COVID-19 750-billion-euro Recovery Fund, the Next Generation EU programme.
He said that, in the execution phase of the Recovery Plan, "details should be outlined to avoid waste, delays and inefficiency.
"The Next Generation EU programme is an opportunity to revive the growth and productivity of the Italian economy that must not be wasted," he added.
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