ROME (Reuters) -Italy has spent roughly half of the EU post-COVID recovery funds it is entitled to for the 2021-2026 period, budget watchdog UPB and the country’s central bank said on Wednesday, outlining that Rome needs more time with less than a year of the programme now left.
Rome is due to receive 194.4 billion euros ($226 billion) from the bloc’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, more than any other state in absolute terms.
Implementing its plans for the money is seen by investors and rating agencies as an important measure of Italy’s ability to boost its sluggish economic growth.
As of September 25, public administrations have spent 85.8 billion euros, UPB told parliament on Wednesday, based on the state-backed ReGis database.
The cash disbursement by the EU is linked to the achievement of policy “targets and milestones” over time, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has secured so far 140 billion euros. The last instalment is expected in the second half of next year.
“Around 94% of projects are either under implementation or in the final stages, while the remaining 6% are at critical stages,” UPB chairman Lilia Cavallari said during a parliamentary hearing on the government’s multi-year budget plan.
Bank of Italy official Andrea Brandolini said in a separate hearing that at the end of this year some 100 billion euros would have been spent.
Italy plans to spend EU funds worth 1.6% of gross domestic product beyond 2026, Brandolini added, up from an estimate of 0.5% of GDP made by the Treasury in April.
($1 = 0.8601 euros)
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
