Italy sent fifth NRRP payment request for €10.6 billion to Brussels

Brussels – The fourth installment is already history, now the focus is on the fifth. A little more than 24 hours after the fourth tranche was
paid, the Italian government submitted its request for the fifth one of the
National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to the European Commission, meeting
the December 31 deadline. Today’s news “closes a year of great commitment and extraordinary results of the government in the implementation of the Pnrr,” has announced on X Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, promising that “we are determined to continue the work in the coming months.”

The European Commission will have to evaluate Rome’s request and transmit the outcome of the preliminary assessment to the Council’s Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) regarding the achievement of the 52 objectives that bind the disbursement of the 10.6 billion euros of the fifth installment of Italy’s NRRP. This includes investments in the agriculture sector (to increase the efficiency of irrigation systems and implement green energy production), in the environmental sector (with the construction of new plants for waste valorization and the modernization of the existing ones), and in local public transport (with the strengthening of the zero-emission bus fleet and the network of subways and streetcars). As for infrastructure, the fifth installment of the NRRP includes the electrification of the southern railway line and high-speed rail between Salerno and Reggio Calabria. Objectives are also planned in culture, schools, public real estate, and health care, with the implementation of care systems linked to telemedicine.

“As was already the case for the fourth, Italy’s request for the fifth is confirmed to be ahead of schedule compared to all other member states,” exulted the Minister for European Affairs, Raffaele Fitto, speaking of “an extraordinary achievement that is the result of great teamwork and constant and positive dialogue with the European Commission. “So far, Italy has received a total of 101.9 billion euros divided into four installments, and now—after Brussels receives the request—the process of verifying that the 52 targets set by the fifth tranche are met will begin. “We understand that the assessment phase will, as always, be very rigorous, but from our side, we are confident,” Minister Fitto reassured.

NRRP payments to Italy

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Italy’s NRRP is financed by 69 billion euros in grants and 122.6 billion euros in loans, as per the Commission’s green light of 22 June 2021. The then prime minister, Mario Draghi, had welcomed the chairwoman of the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, to the Cinecittà studios in Rome for the official presentation and Brussels’ “yes” to the Italian Plan: “We have to repay this trust, we have a responsibility not only to the Italians but with the European citizens.” A little less than two months later, Rome received 24.9 billion euros as pre-financing from the NRRP—equal to 13 percent of the total amount allocated to Italy under Next Generation Eu—to boost the implementation of key investment and reform measures.

The decisive moment came on January 3, 2022, when the government still led by Draghi sent to the EU Commission the first payment request for 21 billion euros, with the results both in terms of meeting the conditions necessary to get the pre-financing disbursement and the 51 targets for the first tranche. Within three months came the positive response from Brussels, followed by a second tranche of 21 billion euros disbursed on September 27, two days after the outcome of the parliamentary elections that saw the triumph of the right-wing coalition led by Fratelli d’Italia. On January 3, 2023, the new Italian executive sent the third payment request to Brussels—the first of the Meloni government—which, after a long process and several misunderstandings with Brussels, was unblocked in mid-January for an €18.5 billion disbursement. The request for the fourth installment of the NRRP payment also arrived very quickly, and the Commission responded positively with the payment of the EUR 16.5 billion tranche at the end of 2023.