Confidence vote in the House and then on to the Senate. Time is running out and the government has little to get toapproval of the decree on public administration which expires on June 21st and among other things it contains the controversial rules on the tightening to the control by the Court of Auditors on the expenses of the Pnrr (no longer «concomitant») and on the one-year extension of the tax shield.
The road is traced.
After the go-ahead from the Constitutional Affairs and Labor commissions of the Chamber, the text arrives in the Chamber on Monday the government will pose the question of trust: the final vote could arrive between Tuesday and Wednesday. The goal is to send it to the Senate as soon as possible, by June 21st.
The oppositions – Pd and Five Stars – promise battle, especially on the rule linked to the Court of Auditors accusing the government of wanting to avoid controls and warn of the risk of “losing billions because we do not achieve the objectives”. The center-right reiterates that the «role of the Court is not in question» and the Minister for European Affairs Raffaele Fitto, in an interview with Tg1, reassured: «Italy will not miss this opportunity, the Pnrr is a challenge not for this government but for the country ». And he invites the opposition “to adopt a responsible attitude with proposals on the merits”.
The tension is also released with Europe. The same Fitto defines the case as “closed” after the misunderstood words uttered on Friday by two EU Commission spokespersons on the law on the Court of Auditors, and the piqued reply from Palazzo Chigi complete with an 8-point note and the accusation of “uninformed prejudice”.
Twenty-four hours later, Fitto spoke of the «perfect collaboration with the Commission, especially between the two presidents, Meloni and Von der Leyen, whose relations are fruitful and positive joint work». Yesterday morning, another spokesman for the Commission had already spoken of «constructive exchanges», with «the Italian authorities» who “provide further information where necessary”, demonstrating that the dialogue between the Commission and Palazzo Chigi is anything but fragile. Government sources explain that the 8-point document released on Friday served to clarify Rome’s line on the Pnrr and the Court of Auditors question. But also yesterday the Commission spokesman reiterated that “as a general rule, we do not comment on the drafts of national legislative acts»but also adding that “within the framework of the Pnrr, Italy has put in place a solid audit and control system to guarantee the protection of the Union’s financial interests”.
The Commission also intervened on the delays for the green light for the third installment of the Pnrr, explaining that «it is not unusual to take some time beyond the indicative deadline, the evaluations are still in progress: it happened with the payment requests of Luxembourg, Romania and Slovakia”. And Minister Fitto therefore says he is confident: «We are working on the third tranche, we did an intense job. There were 55 objectives, now we are in a verification phase which I think will end positively and without difficulty».
Brussels then makes it known that it is aware of the willingness of the Italian government to review the Pnrr, but “a formal request” has not yet arrived which should then be evaluated. “The Commission – it was explained – is willing to discuss with the Member States the modification of individual goals or objectives that are no longer feasible due to objective circumstances”. And in any case, the procedure will have “a case-by-case evaluation”. From a distance, Fitto clarifies: “It is important to evaluate what is happening in other countries on the changes: only 5 out of 27 presented their changes”.