The massive EU-funded post-COVID National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) is a “unique opportunity” to boost Italy’s international credibility, outgoing Premier Mario Draghi said while opening a meeting of the ‘control room’ on the plan’s implementation on Wednesday.
“The NRRP is a unique opportunity to relaunch Italy, to overcome territorial, gender and generational inequalities that are weighing on the country,” said Draghi.
“Its full implementation is fundamental for our credibility ― towards our citizens and our international partners.
“We must keep the pledges we have made and, in order to do that, we need everyone’s support”.
Draghi said there must be no delays in the plan’s implementation.
He said that if there were, the European Commission would not keep on issuing the money for the plan, which will amount to nearly 200 billion euro once completed.
The issuing of the funds by the EC is conditional upon the achievement of ‘milestone’ targets.
Italy is currently ahead of schedule in enacting the NRRP.
Keeping that pace up will be one of the main challenges facing likely premier Giorgia Meloni’s incoming government.
Draghi said he was confident Meloni’s administration would enact the plan with the same effectiveness.
“The government has adopted all the measures necessary to favour an effective implementation of the Plan. Now it is up to the next government to continue the work of implementation, and I’m certain that it will be carried out with the same force and efficacy.”
Draghi said the challenge facing Meloni would be implementing a new chapter of the NRRP to tackle the energy crisis.
The REPowerEU Plan, designed to ensure energy autonomy from Russia with the insertion of a new chapter in the national NRRPs, represents the challenge for the next few months,” he said.
