Italy to be first to ask for 5th NRRP tranche - PM's office

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 19 - Italy is on course to formally submit to the European Commission its request for the fifth installment of European Union funding for its revised post-Covid National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) by the end of the year, the premier's office at Palazzo Chigi said on Tuesday.
    It will be the first EU member state to do so, it added.
    The announcement followed a meeting of the NRRP steering committee to assess the achievement of the 52 targets linked to the fifth tranche worth 10.5 billion euros following the approval by the European Council on December 8 of Italy's modified plan to make the economy greener and more modern.
    Following the changes requested by the government of Premier Giorgia Meloni, the NRRP is now worth 194.4 billion euro, of which 122.6 billion euro in loans and 71.8 billion euro in grants made under the NextGenerationEU programme to help EU member states recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, with resources to be deployed in the period 2021-2026 period.
    The new NRRP covers 66 reforms - seven more than the original plan - and 150 investments, and it includes in total 145 new or modified measures, including interventions set out under the new, separately funded REPowerEU chapter to reduce dependency on Russian fossil fuels in the wake of Moscow's war of aggression against Ukraine.
    Italy is expecting to receive the fourth installment of payment worth 16.5 billion euros by the end of 2023.
    Photo: European Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto, who also holds the portfolio for Italy's NRRP. (ANSA).