Other than the “obsession” that the EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Paolo Gentiloni, recommends. According to the ex prime minister now guardian of the numbers in Brussels, “in our country we manage to give enormous attention to many problems, sometimes even to those that are not around the corner such as the bridge over the Strait and the flat-tax” . But “we forget that there is instead a problem of extreme topicality, urgency and importance called Pnrr, which does not seem to me to be sufficiently at the center of our concerns”. Open up heaven. Criticism pricks the number one cantor of the work that will unite Scilla and Charybdis, the infrastructure minister Matteo Salvini: «From a European commissioner I expect help and proposals, not controversy. Moreover, revolts against his country – the Northern League leader shoots from Alexandria -. Because cutting taxes and doing small and large works is what they pay me for and it is the future of the country. I expect advice from a European commissioner, suggestions on how not to lose a single euro of this Pnrr, perhaps by reviewing spending times and methods». But Gentiloni, from the stage of the presentation of the renewal of Business&Finance Of Republicat the Bocconi in Milan, goes even further: “We Italians cannot take responsibility for a failure of the first Eurobonds at EU level, because from a European point of view it would truly be a disaster”.
Sharing concerns about the future of the Pnrr, now that its declination enters the chaos of a thousand bell towers, is the governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco, on the same stage. “What has been done so far, despite all the difficulties, has gone in the right direction,” says the central banker. The plan, he recalls, “is the combination of reforms, interventions at the national level and interventions on the territory”. On the reforms, “there are difficulties, discussions… but more or less progress is being made”. Centrally managed investments continue. What remains, he explains, is the “significant” difficulty in Italy “in the ability to plan and manage funds at the local level”. It is not homogeneous across the territory, concedes Visco, there are areas with a lot of organization and areas with defects. The government “must be able to identify” the latter and intervene “at a central level to support or even replace themselves”. All to maintain “a high interest in this which is a crucial element for future growth”. Gentiloni agrees with Visco: «So far so good». But «as the challenge goes on, it becomes more demanding. Because the reforms that need to be addressed are perhaps more delicate from a political point of view and because the investments land at a local level, they very often involve territorial dynamics». The moment is crucial. Brussels is examining the third disbursement request, the one at the end of December. There will be two more tranches this year. «Together they make 34 billion: practically a financial one». Gentiloni swears that in Brussels there is a “total willingness” to review the plans as they have already done for Germany, Finland and Luxembourg. However, “we mustn’t let our guard down in the slightest. It must be an obsession for our ruling classes of national and local government».
Gentiloni criticizes that “sort of CIPE syndrome”, the inter-ministerial committee where investments are approved, which we have in our institutions. «Very often once something is included in the CIPE, and the funding is available, the objective seems to have been achieved, a press release is issued… But it doesn’t work like that. There are huge resources but the most delicate part is now: the reforms, the investments linked to these great resources, putting them on the ground. We know it, the government knows it, we have to roll up our sleeves in Brussels as in Rome, and make everything work». Because if it doesn’t work, warns the EU commissioner, “it will be very difficult to maintain stimuli for public investments that are necessary for growth”. Second: we risk making a fool of ourselves, we who have been asking for Eurobonds for years. «I am optimistic – says the EU commissioner – because I see a huge commitment on the part of the Italian government and I know that of my offices in Brussels. But it is an optimism that should be fueled by an obsessive attention and pressure from the media, categories and social partners. We talk about anything, but we talk little about this which is perhaps the main challenge».