EU funds, priority lane to projects worth 3.7 billion

Having completed the technical investigation, yesterday the government, through the Cabin de Regia per la Cohesion, gave the go-ahead to the list of EU funds projects 2021-2027 considered as priorities. There are 239 in all, presented by central administrations and regions (three on the initial list of 242 are suspended pending further technical details). As anticipated by Il Sole 24 Ore on 5 February, the value totals EUR 3.69 billion and there are six sectors involved: water, waste, energy, transport and sustainable mobility, business attractiveness, hydrogeological instability and hydraulic risk. The priority areas were identified in the cohesion policy reform launched by former minister and now EU commissioner Raffaele Fitto in Decree Law 60 of 7 May 2024. The Department for Cohesion Policies verified the congruity of the projects indicated with the priority indices contained in the decree, then passing the dossier on to the steering committee chaired by the Minister for EU Affairs, the South, Cohesion and NPR Tommaso Foti.

"The innovation introduced for the approved projects," says Foti, "is in the form of enhanced monitoring oriented towards the verification of results, which is inspired by the NRP. And precisely for the purpose of a greater commitment to achieving the objectives, a bonus in terms of additional resources to be programmed within the framework of the Cohesion Agreements will be recognised for the projects that reach the procedural milestones indicated. There is, however,' he added, 'the need to programme and communicate further interventions in the areas indicated by the reform. On the other hand, in the event of excessive and unjustified delays, the Council presidency's substitutive powers could be activated.

To recapitulate, EU programming 2021-2027 is worth just under EUR 75 billion for Italy, between European resources and national co-financing. Of this large dowry, a slice of about 35.6 billion falls within the six strategic sectors identified by the reform. And of this share, the list of EUR 3.69 billion is therefore considered the priority part. This census should be seen in a context of great difficulty in committing and certifying expenditure: according to the latest monitoring by the State Accounting Department, updated to 28 February, payments are still stuck at 5 per cent.

Entering into the details of the list approved yesterday by the steering committee, both the interventions already selected and those still at the planning stage are included: more than 100 projects fall under Sustainable development, business attractiveness and digital and green transitions, about forty concern the Waste area, about thirty the Infrastructures for hydrogeological and hydraulic risk and environmental protection, followed by Energy, Transport and mobility and Water resources. In financial terms, however, Sustainable Development accounts for 54% of the total, with almost 2 billion, followed by Transport and Mobility with 836 million (23%), while the other sectors have a smaller relevance, between 10 and 3%. The ministries have indicated a total of more than 1.2 billion, of which 730 million refers to the New Skills Fund within the Youth, Women and Work Programme of the Ministry of Labour; 500 million to the SME Guarantee Fund within the Research, Innovation and Competitiveness Programme of Mimit; and just under 20 million to the Just transition fund of the Council Presidency for the Taranto and Sulcis areas. Among the Regions, it is Campania that has indicated the highest sum (733.9 million divided into 28 interventions), followed by Sicily (576.5 million and 10 projects). Then much lower figures: Apulia with 196.8 million, Tuscany with about million, Piedmont with 125.5 million, followed by the others.