Today, the Commission has endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of all 64 milestones and targets linked to Italy's seventh payment request for €18.3 billion (€4.6 billion in grants and €13.7 billion in loans) under the Recovery and Resilience Facility , the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU.
The payment request covers important steps in the delivery of 10 reforms and 46 investments that will drive positive change for citizens and businesses in Italy in the areas of justice, public administration, public procurement, competition, waste management, cybersecurity and digitalisation of public administration, climate adaptation, renewable energy, energy poverty, sustainable transport, agriculture, scholarships at graduate and post-graduate level.
Flagship measures in this payment request include:
- Boosting competition and transparency: Italy adopted its new Annual Competition Law 2023, which includes measures aimed at increasing competition, efficiency and quality of services in several sectors, including highways. Key changes include a shift to public tender procedures as the default method for awarding concessions, with in-house assignments only allowed in exceptional and justified cases; increased oversight and control of these procedures by the Ministry of Infrastructure, and a more transparent system for setting tariffs and ensuring adequate service levels.
- Improved Accessibility for Southern Italy's Railway Passengers: 10 railway stations in Southern Italy, includingGiovinazzo, Milazzo, Macomer, Vibo Valenzia-Pizzo, Vasto San Salvo, were renovated to improve accessibility for passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility.
- Increase renewable energy distribution: the installation of new primary substations, the modernisation of existing substations, and the reinforcement of distribution lines, has added 1,848 MW of capacity to the network, enhancing the grid's ability to distribute renewable energy.
Next steps
The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Italy's fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which has four weeks to deliver its opinion. The payment to Italy can take place following the EFC's opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission.
Background
The Italian recovery and resilience plan includes a total of 614 milestones and targets, 67 reforms and 150 investments in six thematic areas (the so-called "Missions"). The plan will be supported by €194.4 billion, €71.8 billion in grants and €122.6 billion in loans.
To date, the Commission has disbursed about 63% of the funds allocated to Italy under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, i.e. over EUR 122 billion. This includes pre-financing of €9 billion in grants and €15.9 billion in loans disbursed on 13 August 2021, two payments each worth €21 billion on 13 April 2022 and 8 November 2022, a third one worth €18.5 billion on 9 October 2023, a fourth one worth €16.5 billion on 29 December 2023, a fifth one worth €11 billion on 5 August 2024, a sixth one worth €8.7 billion on 23 December 2024 and RepowerEU prefinancing of EUR 551.2 million.
An interactive map providing examples of reforms and investments supported by the Recovery and Resilience Facility is available online.
