“So the government doesn’t want control”

Pnrr continues to be talked about, but not as expected. National Recovery and Resilience Plan projects are at risk, delays in implementation are known. While the Meloni government is negotiating with the European Commission for a revision of the Plan, the payment of the third installment has been halted and fears are beginning to emerge about the fourth installment based on targets to be reached by June 2023. Confusion emerges from corporate communications: Raffaele Fitto, Minister for European Affairs, submitted the report on Pnrr’s progress to Parliament, and a few days later the text was deposited, but circulating in two different versions. Today.it spoke with Carlo Cottarelli, a professor at Catholic University who recently stepped down as senator, about the delays in the Plan.

Meloni government and Pnrr delays: why

The government is negotiating with the European Commission to amend the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Some projects will be cut, others will be delayed or financed with other funds. The problem is that the content of these dialogues is unknown, and moreover, the reports submitted by Minister Fitto circulate in different versions: “The government has been very frugal with information and Fitto’s reports have been leaked in both the House and the Senate. Cottarelli has very much to Today.it. And the government’s position in the Plan negotiations with the European Commission is not clear yet, we don’t know what they are saying”.

Italy has so far received around 67 billion euros from the European Commission, but the request for the third installment of 19 billion euros remains pending. Given the delays, we are already looking anxiously at the deadlines to be met by June 2023 to receive the fourth tranche of 16 billion. And spending of funds received is slow: just over a billion was spent in the first five months of 2023, with total spending reaching 25.7 billion euros, meaning only 13.8 of all funds will be spent by 2026.

“Starting with the reforms, the delays in Pnrr are obvious,” Cottarelli said. “The delaying of the justice reform decrees to the end of 2023 is the clearest proof of this. Lower spending was also seen in 2021-22. But it exploded in 2023 because it was a lot more money in percentage. a lot, but in public investments, it goes as far as the problems in the management of Public Administration at all planning stages.Public Administration works. It’s not just a matter of simplification: it’s not enough to simplify, but we have to generate incentives to make people work better, including salaries. Scattered bonuses are not good. There’s a lot of talk about “fear.” “Signing,” but nobody talks about how to encourage work, I think also to managers: If a manager brings results to the house, it’s okay to be rewarded.

Melony government conflict vs. SAI: “A hammer in talking cricket”

Amid concerns about the delays in the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience and negotiations to replace it with the European Commission, an all-institutional debate ensued: the Meloni government actually decided to exclude the SAI from “simultaneous control” of projects. ostensibly to streamline procedures

Carlo Cottarelli told Today.it, “The Meloni government considered giving the ‘speaking cricket a hammer’ and targeted the Court of Auditors. This is because of the need to de-legitimate an authoritative voice: Court, Government, Court of Accounts to make negotiations with the Commission less difficult.” It excluded me from simultaneous control, but the loss of credibility was strong”.

And now there are projects where the government has identified critical problems that will jeopardize its implementation: “Among projects at risk, delays in kindergartens, but also in infrastructures, especially high-speed trains – Cottarelli thought, “They are all important projects” : I think all Pnrr projects should be completed. funds can be used, but at more disadvantageous conditions. If nothing is done with Pnrr, then debt is more likely to increase but not grow. ‘it necessarily means: it depends on how projects are financed and the impact they can have”.

So the government wants to put more public debt in the pockets of Italians.

The government is still awaiting the third installment with targets to be reached by December 2022 and is anxiously looking at the fourth installment with targets to be reached by June 2023. For plans and projects to be cut. For Cottarelli, “The important thing is that it turns out soon: uncertainty is not good for you”.

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