NRRP: payment request for seventh instalment, equal to EUR 18.3 billion, sent to European Commission

The payment request for the seventh instalment of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), equal to EUR 18.3 billion, was sent to the European Commission today.

The request was submitted by Italy following the NRRP steering committee meeting held on 29 November, which was chaired by President of the Council of Ministers Giorgia Meloni and checked that the 67 required objectives (32 targets and 35 milestones) had been met.

“Italy is the first nation in Europe to formally submit the payment request for its seventh NRRP instalment. This record will soon enable us to exceed the EUR 140 billion mark, corresponding to more than 72% of the Plan’s total resources. 2025 will be a pivotal year for phase 2 of the NRRP: the roll-out of investments. This is a crucial phase that does not allow for delays, and the Government and all administrations are at the forefront to achieve this goal” stated President Meloni. 

The objectives for the seventh instalment include: investments to implement electricity transmission infrastructure (‘SA CO I.3’ and the ‘Tyrrhenian link’); expansion of the fleet of zero-emission buses and trains for regional transportation and the strengthening of metropolitan hubs and major national links; the upgrading of many railway stations; cybersecurity measures; the launch of 480 ‘local operational centres’ (‘Centrali Operative Territoriali’, ‘COT’) to improve public health services; investments to better manage water resources; the assignment of 55,000 university study grants to deserving, underprivileged students, 7,200 PhD scholarships in the areas of research, public administration and culture, and 6,000 innovative PhD scholarships dedicated to business.

As well as investments, there are also several strategic reforms, such as: the competition law; completion of measures to speed up public administration payments; a review of the ‘universal civil service’ to encourage young people to participate; legislation on renewables, in line with the ambitious goals of the new REPowerEU mission in Italy’s NRRP.

“The 67 objectives linked to the seventh payment request demonstrate the Government’s constructive commitment, in synergistic collaboration with the European Commission and all bodies in charge of implementing the Plan, – stated the Minister for European Affairs, the NRRP and Cohesion Policy, Tommaso Foti – these are key measures for Italy’s modernisation and growth, including the launch of work to boost port, rail, road and urban infrastructure, representing a fundamental prerequisite for the further development of the Mezzogiorno and the concrete reduction of regional disparities. The NRRP requires continuous progress: right from the start of 2025, we will be working hard to achieve the milestones and targets for the last three instalments and to ensure closer monitoring of the Plan’s implementation status, in order to identify any adjustments needed to complete the planned reforms and investments”.

In line with the previous payment requests, the seventh instalment will be disbursed upon completion of the standard assessment process provided for by European procedures, the aim of which is to verify that all required milestones and targets have been met.