EU disappointed by Italy, the third installment of the Pnrr risks being blocked in the Commission offices

EU disappointed by Italy, the third installment of the Pnrr risks being blocked in the Commission offices

A new cold shower risks falling on the Meloni government. The third installment of the Pnrr is once again on the verge of getting stuck in the Commission's offices. A possibility that yesterday fell like an ax on the round of talks carried out by the Italian Minister for European Affairs, Raffaele Fitto. In fact, the European executive's "assessment" was not yet ready yesterday. The further postponement and bypassing of June is no longer just a scholastic hypothesis. The 19 billion destined for our country are therefore still in the "freezer" and it is not known with certainty when they will be transferred to the Treasury coffers.

But this stop is no coincidence. It is the result of the "litigious" choices of Palazzo Chigi. It is not just the effect caused by Rome's delays in responding to Palazzo Berlaymont's request for clarification. But above all it is the result of the changed climate around Italy: the "confident expectation" has now dissolved into a "disheartened disappointment".

From the criticism of Europe on interest rates, ESM and PNRR expressed in Parliament during its latest communications, to the decidedly 'softer' tones used when arriving in Brussels for the European Council.

It's a Giorgia Meloni Euro-conciliatory the one that presents itself at the summit of the 27, whose premises are judged positively by the tenant of Palazzo Chigi: “Overall, for us the Council conclusions are an excellent starting point”, comments the Prime Minister upon her arrival at the Europa Building, noting that “on migration, Tunisia, flexibility in the use of funds” e “first steps for a European sovereign fund” they are in the draft final declarations “the Italian positions”.

The Prime Minister - who manages to meet the Cypriot President for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the proceedings Nikos Christodoulidis - places emphasis on the migration issue, one of the 'topics' of the European Council, vindicating the efforts of its executive for having put the issue of defending the Union's borders at the top of Europe's agenda: “I don't have to remind you that what is written in the Council's conclusions today was probably unthinkable 8 months ago. We have really managed to change the point of view, also with the contribution of other nations, on the age-old division between countries of first arrival and countries of secondary movements" switching to a “single approach that solves everyone's problems, which is the one on the external dimension”.

However, Mateusz Morawiecki's Poland is opposing the agreement on migration that EU leaders are working on (Meloni's European ally in the Conservative family), who rejected the principle of “obligatory solidarity” in the relocation of migrants and announced a referendum on whether to accept or reject the agreement.
The Tunisia dossier also lands on the table of 27, the stability of which is "fundamental" for the Italian government on a political and financial level.

Meloni notes with satisfaction the proposal for an increase in resources for migration (about 12 billion) announced by the President of the EU Commission von der Leyen as part of the budget review: “It seems like an excellent starting point to me. It is important to understand – insists the Prime Minister – that we need money to solve this problem”, money “which must not be spent only on security levels. We need cooperation with the countries of North Africa and that is what I am working on with strategic partnerships."

Among the topics at the center of the European summit the war in Ukraine could not be missing: the commitment of EU leaders for Kiev continues with the allocation of 50 billion proposed by the EU Commission. The Ukrainian president intervenes during the summit Volodymyr Zelensky to thank the 27 and to encourage the EU to insist on sanctions against Russia.

Kiev's number one also says he is ready to start negotiations for Ukraine's accession to the EU. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has criticized support for the country invaded by Russia. who in a video on social media points to the finger against the EU "on the verge of bankruptcy": Europe, attacks Orban, “he wants 50 billion euros from member states to give to Ukraine, while they fail to account for the money obtained so far. They want that money to pay interest on previous loans."

Then in the background there is the issue of the Pnrr -as mentioned previously-  at the center of yesterday's conversation in Brussels between the Minister for European Affairs Raffaele Fitto and the European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni – criticized by Meloni in his speech before the Chambers on Wednesday – “in light of the constant ongoing contacts between the Italian government and the European Commission on the third and fourth instalments, modification of the plan and supplementary RePowerEu chapter”, the ministry said in a note.

A face to face that is defined as "interlocutory" by government sources.
And if on the one hand Meloni, when asked by reporters, renounces 'firing' on the ECB again (on raising rates "I have already said what I think"), on the other hand she admits that to solve the mortgage problem more needs to be done : “It's a big topic, to which we have been sensitive from the beginning. In our financial law we have imagined a rule to allow everyone to be able to convert their variable rate mortgage into a fixed rate mortgage. We need to do more, I'm discussing it with the Minister of Economy. It is one of those matters on which the government's commitment must be daily".

For the Fdi leader also an incursion into the controversy of the last few days relating to the Report investigation into the companies of the Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanche. According to Meloni, the government's approval to the agenda of the Democratic Party which mentions the 'Visibilia' company "must not be interpreted politically on the issue of Santanchè" which, he assures, "will be in the chamber on Wednesday and that is the day on which it will clarify the his position."

Poland and Hungary are blocking the conclusions of the European Council on migration. This was reported by two European diplomatic sources, on the sidelines of the work in Brussels. Mateusz Morawiecki and Viktor Orban, against the principle of mandatory solidarity agreed in the Internal Affairs Council in Luxembourg (solidarity which does not only provide for relocations, but also, alternatively, financial compensation or technical assistance to the country under migratory pressure), block the points on migration , but other leaders are trying to find a formulation that will satisfy them.

If an agreement is not found, according to the sources the conclusions could simply fall away, given that they are not so decisive "in the real world", and the work in the EU Council, at ministerial level, on the pact on migration and asylum " it would go ahead anyway”, because the Council's negotiating position has already been decided by a qualified majority, putting Poland and Hungary in the minority.

In the European Council, at leader level, the conclusions are consensual, so they can be blocked, which cannot be done at the level of the EU Council, which is a legislative body, unlike the European Council which only gives political indications. For Italy the damage could be relatively limited, given that Tunisia has been included in the chapter on external relations.