First three of today’s NRRP steering committee sessions held at Palazzo Chigi

The first three of today’s working sessions of the steering committee for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) have been held at Palazzo Chigi, chaired by the Minister for European Affairs, Southern Italy, Cohesion Policy and the NRRP, Raffaele Fitto. Among the items on the agenda were: verification of the achievement of the objectives for the fourth instalment; the monitoring of objectives for the fifth instalment; and, the proposal to reformulate the plan.

The first working session, attended by Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio, Undersecretary of State to the Ministry of Economy and Finance Lucia Albano, and a representative of the Department for the digital transition, provided an opportunity to review the fourth and fifth instalment of Italy’s NRRP as well as proposals for its reformulation, which were sent to the European Commission on 7 August this year. In relation to the objectives for the fourth instalment, Minister Nordio confirmed that the last implementing decrees for the civil justice system reform will be adopted in the coming days. With regard to the fifth instalment, the working session assessed the situation regarding the process to digitalise the justice system, in collaboration with the Department for the digital transition. With respect to the proposed reformulation of the Plan, the Minister of Justice illustrated the proposed amendments that have been the subject of an initial discussion with European Commission services. During said discussion, a number of clarifications were provided that will be elaborated on in the next phase of dialogue, allowing for the individual proposals to be fully assessed. The Ministry undertook to present a specific action plan to guarantee the ambition of the reform.
During the second working session, chaired by Minister Fitto in the presence of Minister Nordio, Undersecretary Albano and delegates from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence, an assessment was carried out into ongoing actions to reduce payment time frames by public administrations and health authorities, objectives for which are set for the fifth and seventh instalments. As part of its proposed reformulation of the NRRP, the Government has asked to shift these objectives, to allow for timely verification on an annual basis. In particular, for administrations other than health authorities, an average payment time of 30 days is provided for, with an average delay equal to ‘zero days’. These targets will now be satisfied after 12 months (Q4/2024). Constructive discussions with European Commission services have begun on this detailed point, through a number of technical meetings. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, which is responsible for this measure, has asked for the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Defence to be involved, with the aim of adopting targeted measures, also organisational in nature, in order to reach the set objectives. Specific action plans will be defined in the coming days, which the individual administrations will then implement to enable reporting on their respective objectives.
The NRRP steering committee’s third working session, chaired by Minister Fitto and attended by Minister of Labour and Social Policies Marina Calderone, Undersecretary of State to the Ministry of the Interior Emanuele Prisco, Undersecretary of State to the Ministry of Economy and Finance Lucia Albano and President of ANCI [National Association of Italian Municipalities] Antonio Decaro, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, was a useful opportunity to examine the progress of actions to eliminate illegal living arrangements in the fight against the exploitation of agricultural workers. This measure currently falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, which has asked for the involvement and support of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior (in charge, respectively, of the armed forces and public order) in order to reach the objectives set for the first quarter of 2025. This third working session was also attended by ANCI, considering the active role played by municipal authorities in implementing the necessary infrastructure measures. During the session, the steering committee noted some misalignment between the needs expressed by local authorities when the measure was first launched and those reported in the subsequent mapping. Minister Calderone pointed out the difficulties that have been encountered in finding properties for this purpose and with respect to maintaining public order for the implementation of the planned actions. At the end of the session, the steering committee agreed to define, in the coming days, the actions necessary to ensure objectives are met on time.