Pay attention to the deficit, the expense, but above all the implementation of the Pnrr. On the eve of returning to Maastricht parameters next year, even with an expected new Stability Pact, the European Commission warns Italy. So far, if there were no suspension of the 3% deficit-to-GDP rule – as well as the 60% debt-to-GDP ratio – Italy would run the risk of being prosecuted for breach of deficit excess. Fortunately there is still a year to correct the shot. In between is the budget planning document, the reforms and above all the absorption of the Pnrr. It is precisely at this point that the European Commission aims to increase and reduce expenditure, in accordance with the country-specific recommendations published yesterday in the European Semester package. The Italian government’s plans foresee a deficit reduction below 3% only between 2025 and 2026, a “virtuous” path in any case – underlines the EU commissioner Paolo Gentiloni – but which should be brought forward to next year. Regarding the Pnrr “it remains essential to identify potential delays and implementation problems in a timely manner and to adopt timely measures to resolve them”, urges the EU Executive. For Italy, it is important to strengthen “administrative capacity, especially at the subnational level, to fulfill the plan’s commitments, while an effective and fully operational governance structure remains crucial for a smooth and timely implementation of the plan”, writes the Commission, which invites the changes to the plan and the integration of the new chapter of RePowerEu to be presented as soon as possible, even if the deadline is the end of August. Because – observes Gentiloni – if the amendment to the plan arrives after June, it will be difficult to maintain the payment deadlines that Italy, according to the agreed plans, should present in June and December for the fourth and fifth installments. At the same time, it is necessary to “proceed with the rapid implementation of cohesion policy programmes, in strict complementarity and synergy with the recovery and resilience plan”. The invitation for everyone is to be able to combine prudent budgetary policies and support growth: “A difficult marriage, a difficult couple, but that’s what we need”, to quote Gentiloni.
From Rome, the Italian government, closely engaged in negotiations with the Commission for the payment of the third tranche, appreciates the three elements that emerged from the recommendations: the need to strengthen governance and administrative capacity, especially at the local level; implementation with the presentation of amendments to the plan and indication of complementarity with cohesion policies. In any case, Minister Raffaele Fitto invited everyone to expedite the examination for the review of Pnrr projects, sending each central administration responsible for interventions a note asking them to formalize the hypotheses for reviewing the measures within their competence, to ensure compliance of the objectives, deadlines and conditionalities inherent to the interventions to be confirmed and, finally, to list the interventions for which critical issues have arisen that compromise the full compliance with the objectives defined in the Plan. “Once the referred elements of information have been acquired – explains a note from the ministry – the work of these months will be concluded, which will allow the definition of the Italian proposal for the revision of the Pnrr”.
Source: IL Tempo

John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.