but well the last steps- Corriere.it

The European Commission says that the expiry date of the Pnrr cannot be changed: the recovery plan which assigns around 200 billion euros to Italy must be implemented by 2026. And this despite the ongoing negotiations between the Italian government and the Commission itself, a negotiation that aims to reshape some projects. In fact, the Italian government has now chosen to say it officially. Yesterday the Minister of European Affairs Raffaele Fitto did it, on the occasion of the report of the Court of Auditors: If today we understand that some interventions between now and 30 June 2026 cannot be carried out, and mathematically, scientifically that this is the case, we must say it with clarity and do not wait for 2025 to open the debate on who is to blame.

What is not clear at the moment whether the Italian government aims to reshape the projects in order to keep the 2026 deadline or rather aims to obtain an extension of one or two years, as several executive ministers have stated. Certainly, while the Commission grants another month for ongoing assessments on the achievement of the first quarter objectives, the state of the art requires a reflection on the whole construction of the Plan, as it has been conceived up to now.

It results at Courier that neither do the projects concerning the main infrastructures of the Plan, those linked to the State Railways (equal to 22 billion euros), are deemed open to tender and achievable by Palazzo Chigi by the deadline of 2026. There are no projects yet and it has never been seen that the FS to build something in less than three years, government sources say.

But only one example of the criticality with which the Plan was constructed. The Commission has just reopened the assessment on three points that had been judged positively under the government of Mario Draghi. And a significant anomaly. But another matter, which he has been denouncing for weeks Openpolisthe association that has been sifting through public documents and parliamentary work for years, the absolute lack of transparency.

According to the associationwhich has twice requested access to the documents, required by law and rejected by the government, Italian citizens do not know what we are talking about, what the projects are, what stage the works are at.

also in this context that the Pnrr under the spotlight. It would be problematic to change the 2026 deadline, said yesterday the vice-president of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, despite the appreciation from Brussels for the significant progress made by Italy in recent weeks. But most goals have to be accomplished on time.

And yet, despite the controversy, again the Commission which points out that an extension, for the assessment of the progress of the Plan, is not an anomaly, and does not in any way prejudice the outcome of the Italian request. quite usual for it to happen, we had already done it last month to have more time to examine the request. The Commission does not rule out the possibility that Italy may be granted a further extension at the end of April.

Yesterday Minister Fitto he also said that it is necessary to recover the resources of those projects that do not have a construction capacity by 2026, objectively evaluate the need to modify some objectives, underlining that the government’s attitude is absolutely constructive with all the players involved, first of all obviously the EU Commission.

The Pnrr is a challenge to shake wrists but I can underline the determination on the part of this government, added Fitto. And this while the Democratic Party, with Pina Picierno, expresses concern and asks the government for transparency. And while Italia viva says that the Meloni government is unloading the problems on the previous government. Yesterday the Court of Auditors underlined that the ways in which the Plan was defined, with the recruitment of human resources in the public sector on a fixed-term basis, increased the criticality of the implementation of the Plan itself.