Source: Government of Italy (English)
The payment request for the eighth instalment of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), equal to EUR 12.8 billion, was sent to the European Commission today.
The request was submitted following the NRRP steering committee meeting held on 24 June, which verified the achievement of the 40 required objectives (28 targets and 12 milestones), including reforms and investments that are strategic for Italy’s economic and social growth. With the payment request for the eighth instalment, Italy has consolidated its leading position in Europe in terms of implementation of its NRRP, which will enable it to exceed EUR 153 billion over the coming months, corresponding to approximately 79% of the Plan’s total resources.
The measures implemented as part of the eighth instalment include: digitalisation of the Guardia di Finanza [Italian Finance Police], with innovative IT systems to fight economic crime; more than 1,000 language and methodology courses for school teachers; the launch of projects to update school curricula in over 8,000 schools and guide students towards STEM skills; implementation of culture and tourism enhancement projects by supporting approximately 2,000 small and medium-sized enterprises; redevelopment of around 50 historical parks and gardens. Furthermore, 1,400 km of rail infrastructure have been equipped with the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS); an advanced and integrated monitoring and forecasting system has been created to identify hydrogeological risks in Italy’s southern regions; marine habitat protection and coastal observation work has been carried out; improvements to the energy efficiency of public housing have been planned; with regard to universities, 5,000 research projects of national interest have been funded, approximately 2,300 new researchers have been hired, more than 550 research grants have been allocated, and financing has been provided for research programmes and projects on rare and severely debilitating diseases.
In addition to these investments, there are also important reforms to boost the economic competitiveness of companies, including the reform to reduce payment delays by central and local government authorities, regional authorities, autonomous provinces and national health service bodies, and the reform to launch simplification and streamlining for business incentives.
In line with the previous payment requests, the eighth instalment will be disbursed upon completion of the standard assessment process provided for by European procedures, the aim of which is to verify that all required milestones and targets have been met.