Recovery Plans: the allocation

The release of funds is strictly linked to the respect of the principles and values promoted by the European Union, so in case of violation, funding is blocked. The final version of the plan must be delivered by the end of April, although as early as October 2020, Europe urged the 27 member countries to share their draft or preliminary plans.

Among the countries with the greatest advantage in the process of drawing up their plans are France and Germany. The biggest beneficiaries are Spain (104 billion euros) and Italy (209 billion euros), where the Recovery Plan has been named the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).

Italian Recovery Plan

Italy’s PNRR is currently in draft form to be submitted to the Houses. The Prime Minister Conte hopes to send the final copy to Brussels by mid-February 2021.

Italy aims to use the 209 million euros to implement fiscal reform, green revolution and ecological transition, and digital and innovative development of the country. The money Italy has at its disposal is actually 222 billion, thanks to the inclusion of other funds (13.5 billion  from REACT-EU and 1.2 billion from the Just Transition Fund).

The text of the Italian Recovery Plan is divided into six missions: 1) digitalisation, innovation, competitiveness and culture (EUR 46.18 billion); 2) green revolution and ecological transition (EUR 68.9 billion); 3) infrastructure for sustainable mobility (EUR 31.98 billion); 4) education and research (EUR 28.46 billion); 5) gender equality and social and economic cohesion (EUR 21.28 billion); 6) health (EUR 19.72 billion).

If the reforms implemented in the various micro-areas of the Recovery Plan are successful, the forecast is a +3% gross product at the end of the investment period, i.e. in 2026.

With regard to the management of resources, the Italian government had envisaged an Executive Committee composed of the Prime Minister (Conte), the Minister of the Economy (Gualtieri) and the Minister of Economic Development (Patuanelli). The Minister of European Affairs (Amendola), in agreement with the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Di Maio), would be the “single point of contact with the European Commission for all activities related to the implementation of the plan”.