NRRP: payment request for fifth instalment sent to European Commission today

Italy has sent the payment request for the fifth instalment of its National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to the European Commission today.

The 52 milestones and targets covered by the instalment, worth a total of EUR 10.6 billion, include important investments in: agriculture, to boost the efficiency of irrigation systems and implement green energy production; the water sector, with new works projects to upgrade pipelines and purification systems and to reduce water network losses; the environment, to build new waste recovery facilities and modernise existing ones; local public transport, strengthening the fleet of zero-emission buses and rapid transit underground trains, trams and buses; infrastructure, with railway line electrification in the Mezzogiorno and the Salerno-Reggio Calabria high-speed rail link; culture, making cinemas, theatres and museums energy efficient; schools, constructing new energy-efficient buildings; public buildings, constructing new buildings for the administration of justice and modernising existing ones; health, with the implementation of modern care systems involving telemedicine; public administration, with digital transition measures; and universities, awarding scholarships and funding research projects.

Important goals have also been met with regard to reforms, such as: the national e-procurement system becoming fully operational for the online purchase of goods, services and information; reorganisation of the school system; measures related to competition and the public procurement legislative framework coming into force.

In line with the previous payment requests, the amount due, which will be in addition to the EUR 101.9 billion for the first four instalments, should be paid in the coming months, upon completion of the standard assessment process provided for by European procedures, the aim of which is to check that all required milestones and targets have indeed been met. As was also the case for the fourth instalment, Italy is the first EU Member State to formally request payment of its fifth NRRP instalment.