The EU Council has given the final green light to revised recovery and resilience plans, presented by 13 Member States, including Italy. Ecofin reports this in a note. The approved revised plans cover Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland and Romania. Upon learning of the news, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was satisfied with the result, a concrete example of the “seriousness” and “effectiveness” of the work carried out by the government to date. Ecofin’s yes to the new Pnrr was also commented by the Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy Security Vannia Gava: “ECOFIN’s green light, which follows that of the European Commission, represents yet another recognition of the seriousness of the work carried out in these months on Chapter PNRR and RepowerEU. From the MASE side, I can only congratulate our Department, a team of the highest caliber that has managed to employ the best skills and the most valid diplomacy to bring home a result that will change the face of the country,” she declared.
Most of the plans now include a new chapter of REPowerEU – the Council recalled -. This will help accelerate countries’ transition to clean energy by diversifying their energy supplies and improving their energy efficiency. To finance the greater ambition of their plans, most Member States have requested to transfer their share of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) to the plans in line with the REPowerEU regulation. On 7 August 2023, Italy presented its revised recovery and resilience plan, which includes a REPowerEU chapter. The revised plan places a strong focus on the green transition, allocating 39%, compared to 37.5% in the original plan, of available funds to measures that support climate objectives. The plan is now worth €194.4 billion, €122.6 billion in loans and €71.8 billion in grants, reinforcing Italy’s digital readiness and maintaining its important social dimension.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
