The ceiling set by the European Commission on the use of structural funds for the energy emergency greatly reduces the initial ambitions of Fratelli d’Italia. The 40 billion at European level, indicated in the package of measures against expensive bills (see the article on page 4) are just over 10% of the budget for the 2014-2020 cohesion policy and would be reduced to 3-4 billions in the Italian scenario. Provided that an agreement is reached with the individual Regions with which the reprogramming of funds not yet used should be agreed. We are far below the 20 billion euros that some members of the party that won the elections and that with Giorgia Meloni will lead the government, uttered through gritted teeth in recent weeks. Certainly, however, the diplomatic relations woven in recent weeks, also by Raffaele Fitto, MEP, co-president of the group of European Conservatives and probable new EU affairs minister, have hit the mark given the opening of the EU Commission to the use of at least part of the funds, as confirmed yesterday by Commissioner Elisa Ferreira and Alves Cordeiro, president of the European Committee of the Regions. A move that is part of the package of EU proposals to combat expensive energy, with possible use therefore for families and businesses, and which will then pass through the EU Parliament and Council. Ferreira herself confirmed (see Il Sole-24 Ore of 30 September) that the REpowerEu program could be on the table to recover resources. “We know that the European Parliament will propose some ideas in their contribution on REpower,” said the Commissioner for Cohesion. It was signed by Fitto that amendments aiming at the possibility for Member States to request the reallocation in REpowerEu of both the resources on loan from the NRP that have not yet been committed and those of 2014-2020 for which there are no legally binding commitments.
At the moment, as regards the Italian use of structural funds 2014-2020, the latest monitoring of the State Accounting Office is updated to last April. Considering the payments made and without counting the integration that there was then with the React-Eu fund, at the goal of 2023 (last year for reporting) there are still 30.3 billion Fesr and ESF of which 22 billion EU and the rest national co-financing. Uncommitted funds instead amount to 14.2 billion ERDF and ESF (of which 10.3 from EU resources and the rest co-financed).
As mentioned, however, the EU Commission proposes a “cap” to the use of funds. For Italy, 10% would mean a ceiling of 3.4 billion considering only the ERDF and ESF funds that should be subject to reprogramming. And in any case, to define a certain figure, it will take not a simple passage with the Regions, as well as with the ministries, owners of the management of the individual programs. It also happened with the rescheduling allowed by Brussels for expenses related to the health and economic crisis triggered by the pandemic. On that occasion, the Conte government brought home just under 12 billion, of which 5.4 billion from the ministerial programs and 6.5 billion from the regional ones.
Yesterday the probable new Minister of European Affairs Fitto recorded as a first success the announcement of Ferreira, which “goes in the direction desired by Giorgia Meloni and the Brothers of Italy to grant greater flexibility, through the RepowerEu instrument, in the use of resources of the 2014-2020 cohesion policy, to cope with the expensive energy as done for Covid and the emergency of Ukrainian refugees “.