A redistributive policy with an uncertain future
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The Istat study on the effectiveness of cohesion policy in Italy confirms the assessments which, at European level, in recent years have led the Commission to speak of a “development trap”. It is the stalemate in which many regions in the more advanced countries find themselves, unable to keep up with the faster-moving regions, with which the comparison is played on the capacity for innovation and investment, and in difficulty in competing even with the most backward ones because there is no history of labor costs. The problem mainly concerns France, but things are not going well in Italy either. In the map of the competitiveness of the European regions of the EU Commission’s DG Regional Policies, in 2022 Lombardy is the only Italian region slightly above the EU average. It ranks 98th and to find the second Italian region, Emilia-Romagna, you have to go down to 128th position. Then Veneto, Tuscany, Lazio and Piedmont and to follow the others.
For all, of the eleven indicators that make up the index, the worst data concerns the institutional level (quality and efficiency of institutions, level of perception of corruption and general regulatory framework, support for businesses and openness to business).
Detailed data is up Lab24the visual area of the Sole24ore.com. What is interesting to note here is that the problem does not appear to be the cohesion policy as such, but the institutional and administrative fabric of the country, from Bolzano to Ragusa. Passing through Milan. This is why with the Pnrr – the strongest competitor of the cohesion policy – it was decided to focus on reforms rather than on projects, and in particular on strengthening administrative capacity, a real weak point in the implementation of all public policies, just as the difficulties in spending the European structural funds had already made it clear for some time. The ability to implement reforms could make the difference, both for the cohesion funds and for the Pnrr. That’s the goal. The path, however, is becoming increasingly tortuous and bumpy.
Cohesion policy is worth 367 billion euros, a third of the EU budget and Italy is the second beneficiary, after Poland. There is no interstate redistributive policy of this magnitude elsewhere. Increasingly, however, it is questioned, both for the method and for the results that cannot be measured only in terms of GDP. Furthermore, we continue to draw on it to respond to crises and divert funds to other objectives, from the Juncker plan to Covid, from refugees to the sovereign wealth fund for EU industry. In many Member States, including Italy, the tendency is to centralize the management of a policy designed for the regions and which should start from the needs of the territories.
The debate on what cohesion policy will become in the next few years began some time ago. Changing shouldn’t be a taboo, but you need to be aware that you are working on a very complex and delicate system. And so far the “Pnrr model” has not proved to be the right alternative.
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