22 April 2023

Statement by Raffaele Fitto, Minister for European Affairs, Southern Italy, Cohesion Policy and National Recovery and Resilience Plan

The interventions undertaken for the Bosco dello Sport (“Sports Wood”) of Venice and the Franchi Stadium of Florence cannot be accounted and reported as National Recovery and Resilience Plan resources. As a matter of fact, following a further investigation, the Commission services confirmed the ineligibility of both interventions within the integrated urban plans (PUI – Piani Urbani Integrati) of their respective metropolitan cities.

The integrated urban plans were approved on 22 April 2022 via decree issued by the Minister of the Interior in agreement with the Minister of Economy and Finance. In light of the observations received at end-March this year, on 4 April 2023 the Government convened the mayors of the metropolitan cities of Venice and Florence, in order to acquire any useful element to overcome the reported issues. The information was then forwarded to the Commission and became the subject of two further technical meetings. Yesterday evening, the European Commission’s services, while appreciating the efforts made by our Government, confirmed the ineligibility of the interventions related to the Bosco dello Sport (“Sports Wood”) of Venice and the Franchi Stadium of Florence, which therefore cannot be funded with National Recovery and Resilience Plan resources.

The Commission then asked our Government to adopt the necessary acts to formalise the statement, and finalise the positive check of all the objectives set at 31 December 2022, in order to receive the third instalment. In the coming days, the Government will assess and activate any required action to ensure the timely release of the 19-billion-euro instalment.