NRRP steering committee meets at Palazzo Chigi

NRRP steering committee meeting held on 8th progress report to Parliament and fulfilment of objectives for the 10th instalment

A steering committee meeting for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) was held at Palazzo Chigi today to examine the eighth NRRP progress report to Parliament and to verify fulfilment of the 156 objectives linked to the payment request for the tenth and final instalment, worth a total of EUR 28.4 billion. The meeting, called and chaired by Minister for European Affairs, the NRRP and Cohesion Policy Tommaso Foti, was attended by the Ministers and Undersecretaries in charge as well as by representatives from ANCI [National Association of Italian Municipalities], UPI [Union of Italian Provinces] and the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces.

"For the tenth and final NRRP instalment, numerous strategic objectives involving the main areas of this nation's economic and social life have been achieved, exceeding the targets set by the European Commission. Having fulfilled all 576 of the Plan's objectives, which will continue to have a positive impact over the coming years, we have reached the end of a journey which goes far beyond a continuous increase in spending (which, net of financial instruments, has exceeded EUR 133 billion) and the completion of individual projects, providing Italy with structural measures in the areas of healthcare, infrastructure, the ecological transition, education, digitalisation, culture, employment and social inclusion, making the nation more competitive, more modern and more united. This is a great result for Italy as well as a victory for the Meloni Government", stated Minister Foti, who took the opportunity to thank the NRRP Task Force, the Heads of Cabinet and all the NRRP mission units within the various ministries for the important work they have carried out.

Reforms completed for the tenth instalment include measures designed to have a structural and lasting impact on Italy's competitiveness and efficiency, involving several strategic areas: from the public administration to justice, from competition to simplification measures, from business incentives to the reform of the public procurement system, through to education and research.

In addition to these reforms, there are numerous, significant investments, including: the activation of 1,270 community care centres and 327 community hospitals, more than 6,000 new intensive and semi-intensive care beds and approximately 3,200 pieces of major healthcare equipment; the uploading of over 99% of digital clinical documents into 'Electronic Health Records'; telemedicine assistance for more than 566,000 people.

Moreover, around 1,700 km of cycle paths have been rolled out, approximately 4,000 km of rail lines have been upgraded, 73 stations have been redeveloped and more than 3,200 zero-emission buses have been registered. Over 153,000 new nursery and pre-school places have also been created, more than 1,100 canteens and 360 gyms have been built or refurbished, 176 schools have been demolished and rebuilt, 1,600 school premises have been made safe, more than 40,000 new students have enrolled with higher technical institutes ('ITS') and over 60,000 new university accommodation places have been guaranteed, 30,000 of which will be created thanks to the financial instrument.

83% of schools and municipalities have revamped their websites and digital services, more than 2.5 million citizens have attended digital training courses, 284 central public administrations and more than 12,000 public institutions have moved to secure cloud infrastructure, approximately 3 million house numbers have been digitised, around 20,000 schools and healthcare centres have been connected to ultrafast broadband and an area equal to 23,000 km² has been covered by 5G.

674 cultural sites have been made accessible, 4,200 assets have been enhanced, 21 villages have been redeveloped, approximately 3,300 interventions have been carried out in small hamlets and around 730 projects have been completed for earthquake safety and the protection of works of art in places of worship. More than 882,000 people have taken part in courses under the national programme for the guaranteed employability of workers ('GOL'), more than 270 job centres have been upgraded, approximately 3,200 people with disabilities have embarked on independent living pathways and over 12,000 homeless people have benefited from reception initiatives and work to combat poverty. Lastly, more than 1,500 rural pharmacies have been enhanced and funding has been provided to improve the energy efficiency of approximately 2,000 social housing buildings.

The eighth NRRP progress report will be sent to Parliament in the coming days for fulfilment of the necessary procedures and, at the same time, all preparations will be completed in order to submit the payment request for the Plan's tenth and final instalment to the European Commission by 30 September.

[Courtesy translation]