Resumed, here are the 21 billion euros requested by Italy. The European Commission opens the taps of the Recovery Fund by granting the Draghi government the resources required to relaunch the country in a sustainable and modern sense after the health and economic crisis that ensued. The check detached today from the community executive is added to that of last August, when 24.9 billion in pre-financing ended up in the tricolor coffers. In total, Europe has guaranteed around 47 billion euros so far, which will be spent quickly and well.
Italy must meet 51 objectives and milestones concerning various reforms and investments, from energy efficiency in buildings to sustainable mobility, from the digitalization of the public administration to that of the justice system, from the improvement of the water management system to the development of ‘hydrogen. There is a lot to do, in essence. If the president of the EU executive congratulates Italy for a national relaunch strategy that is considered ambitious, credible and achievable, the commissioner for the economy, Paolo Gentiloni, reminds us that the difficulty is now. Brussels is not a blank check. On the contrary, it is related to the “achievement of the agreed objectives”.
There is no doubt that in the meantime “good news” is coming for Draghi, as von der Leyen emphasizes. After the preliminary green light in February, the community executive had promised that the 21 billion check would be written off by the beginning of April. Promise kept, now it’s up to Italy to keep faith with its own.