Brussels says that only in "exceptional" conditions can changes be studied and they would affect disbursements
BRUSELAS, 25 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -
The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, has pointed out during her first speech in the Italian Parliament her intention to negotiate with the European Commission "adjustments" in the use of the recovery funds that the European Union has provided for Italy in exchange for milestones and precise reforms; an announcement to which Brussels has rushed to respond that governments must comply with what has been agreed and that only under "exceptional circumstances" can modifications be studied.
Meloni has defended that his Government will use the available resources "in the best way" and this "without delay, without waste and agreeing with the European Commission on the necessary adjustments to optimize spending", with the aim of adapting resources to the scarcity of raw materials and the energy crisis.
In this way, the successor of Mario Draghi at the head of the Italian Executive has ensured that budget and crisis management issues must be addressed "with a pragmatic approach, not an ideological one".
Shortly after Meloni's speech, the Community Executive has avoided a direct response but has made it clear that the "priority" of the Member States must be to fulfill the commitments "as agreed" in the recovery and reform plans that each government has negotiated with the European Commission and agreed with the Twenty-seven.
"Only in exceptional cases can a Member State request a modification. The Member State must show that it can no longer apply that part of the plan due to objective circumstances," said the Community spokesperson for Economic Affairs, Veerle Nuyts, when asked in a press conference in Brussels.
All in all, the community spokesperson has specified that although the European Commission is "willing to discuss" the individual objectives and milestones that a Member State can no longer meet for "objective" reasons, this analysis would be made "case by case" and would also have "an immediate impact" on the implementation of the plan, that is, on the disbursement of funds.
Italy's recovery plan amounts to 191.5 billion euros, making it the largest beneficiary of the European Union's anti-crisis fund. To date, the Italian authorities have already received an advance of nearly 25,000 million and a payment of 21,000 million euros. Brussels gave the green light to the disbursement of a second tranche of 21,000 million this September.
