Pnrr, Minister Fitto’s Promise: Money Not Spent on Weapons in Ukraine

Pnrr money will not be spent on buying weapons and ammunition for Ukraine. The guarantee is from Raffaele Fitto. Minister for European and Southern Affairs and Cohesion Policies. Fitto spoke about this during Senate Question Time. “We have already said and I want to reiterate that support is not at issue but the right of access to the use of these resources is not on this government’s agenda”. This is what the Minister for European Affairs, the South, Cohesion Policies and the Pnrr, Raffaele Fitto, says about the Asap regulation on the use of Pnrr resources for the production of ammunition.

However, Minister Fitto’s words were not enough for the opposition. «Minister Fitto’s assurances in the Senate during question time do not reassure us, because right-wing groups in the European Parliament voted against the amendments presented by the Italian delegation of the PSE that expressly provided for the elimination of the possibility of using Pnrr resources, resources for the purchase of arms and ammunition. These amendments, dear Minister Fitto, were rejected and shelved by your EP colleagues, because the Conservative, Democracy and Identity and EPP MPs voted against them. We can also rely on the minister’s word, but in the plenary of the European Parliament an action was staged contrary to Fitto’s statements in the Senate Room. I remind everyone that we obtained the Pnrr to overcome inequalities and gaps between generations, genders and territories and invest in education, health, transport, ecological and social transition and social inclusion. It is therefore necessary that we reach the vote in the Chamber of an act of direction that transforms the commitment assumed by Minister Fitto into irreversible acts”. This is what Senator Francesco Boccia, president of the Democratic Party group in the Senate, said in the Chamber, who also underlined: «We note that there is still no official request for a revision of RepowerEu by the right-wing government, while in the Italian debate this has been a request and the Democratic Party has been asking for details of modified bills for weeks. We will also come back to this because we asked to discuss a specific policy statement in the House.”