27 March 2023

Following the meetings of the Minister for European Affairs, of the South, of Cohesion Policies and NRPR, Raffaele Fitto, with the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Paolo Gentiloni, and with the EU Commission’s PNRR task force, it was agreed to extend the assessment phase by one month to allow the Commission services to complete the technical activities of sampling and verification, continuing the fruitful discussion that has already made it possible to positively evaluate most of the targets set for 31 December 2022.

The Commission agreed to extend this phase taking into account the number and complexity of the planned 55 Milestones and Targets. The Commission also underlined its appreciation for all the actions undertaken by the Government, which have already enabled significant progress towards the successful achievement of almost all the objectives set out above.

In particular, three measures that had been approved by the previous government are being investigated further.

The port concessions, for which the Commission considers it necessary to further deepen, proposing to limit its maximum duration, as established by the Decree sent to the Council of State on 14 October 2022.

District heating networks, for which the Commission has questioned the eligibility of certain interventions, selected through the tendering procedure of 30 June 2022.

The Integrated Urban Plans, approved on 22 April 2022, for which the Commission contested the eligibility of the interventions relating to the “Bosco dello Sport” in Venice and the “Stadio Artemio Franchi” in Florence.

The Government will provide additional elements to support the eligibility of all these interventions, in particular those provided for in the Integrated Urban Plans of Venice and Florence. The Government will continue to work constructively with the European Commission to ensure the successful completion of evaluation activities.

(source: Palazzo Chigi)