By Giuseppe Fonte
ROME (Reuters) – Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni plans to bring the management of Italy’s post-COVID recovery plan under her direct control, government officials told Reuters on Thursday, seeking to make full use of some 200 billion euros ($214 billion) in EU funding.
Rome has so far secured almost 86 billion euros of the European Union money it is due by 2026, but it is increasingly struggling to meet the so-called “targets and milestones” agreed with EU authorities to unlock funds.
The government is also behind schedule in actually using the funds. Its initial investment programme envisaged spending worth more than 40 billion euros by 2022 but this estimate was revised downwards on three occasions and set to below 20 billion euros in December.
Meloni wants to set up within her office a dedicated unit responsible for implementing the recovery plan, according to a draft decree seen by Reuters and set to be approved at a cabinet meeting scheduled for 1630 (1530 GMT) on Thursday.
The new body will replace a separate entity which, under Meloni’s predecessor Mario Draghi, would have remained in place until 2026 even after government changes.
The move signals Meloni’s goal to bring the decision-making process for the plan into the hands of her top aides.
As part of the broader package, the decree cuts deadlines for obtaining permits and strengthens Rome’s powers to overcome opposition from local authorities against EU-funded projects.
EU Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto is also working to renegotiate with the European Commission some aspects of Italy’s recovery plan, asking Brussels to take into account the impact of costly raw materials prices on public works, the officials said.
These discussions are part of procedures to select projects eligible for the so-called REPowerEU plan, aimed at ending the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and tackling the climate crisis.
Money coming from the EU could be devoted to building a link to bring hydrogen that would be produced in northern Africa to northern Europe, sources have previously said.
Italy’s right-wing administration plans to complete the overall negotiations with Brussels by the end of April.
($1 = 0.9345 euros)
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Keith Weir)
