Italy, the country severely devastated by Covid-19 in Europe, became the largest recipient of 724 billion euros in European Union assistance for rehabilitation following the epidemic.
However, it has trailed behind in project implementation and is unable to meet the deadlines established by Brussels for obtaining the funds. The European Commission raised alarm over Rome’s delays, reminding it that if it wants to settle issues with the financial program, which expires in three years, it must act promptly.
Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi got 68.9 billion euros in subsidies and 122.6 billion euros in soft loans from Brussels in 2021, totaling 191.5 billion euros, or about 50 billion more than any other country.
His administration submitted 138,640 first initiatives in six investment areas: digitization, ecological transformation, infrastructure, education, social equality, and health. Italy has so far received a pre-financing package and two payment installments totaling 67 billion euros.
The third tranche of €19 billion was scheduled to be sent to the nation by the end of 2022, but the funds were halted after the European Commission demanded clarity on Rome’s efforts to accomplish “key objectives and points” in order to release the cash.
The current Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said that the initial plan had to be amended owing to the invasion of Ukraine and excessive inflation.
Italian authorities are concerned that the plan was defective from the start, claiming that it is ludicrous to believe that Italy could spend that much money until 2026, given that the nation has one of the poorest records for using EU funding in recent decades.
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