Draghi’s How-to Spend-It Plan for EU in Italy Is Almost Ready

(Bloomberg) --

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi will present colleagues with a new blueprint to spend European Union cash that shifts more of it to digitalization and is boosted by a 30 billion-euro ($36 billion) top-up, according to officials with knowledge of the matter.

The plan still features 6 overall “missions” and 16 categories of expenditure, but now incorporates a nationally-financed supplement known in Italy as “fondone” or big fund, bringing total resources to 221.5 billion euros. Draghi will discuss the proposals with the cabinet on Friday before presenting them to parliament next week.

As requested by the EU, the main emphasis for its grants and loans remains on green transition spending, which gets about 30% of the money, with about 22% devoted to digitalization and innovation. A large chunk is also slated for infrastructure, modernizing and widening Italy’s railway system and providing the South with high-speed trains.

The newest figures show an increase in funds for education which will amount to about 31.9 billion euros and include efforts to transfer technology and research know-how from universities to companies.

Draghi was placed by Italy’s fractious political parties at the head of national unity government earlier this year to help the country out of its deepest recession since World War II. The country was among Europe’s hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with the economy shrinking 8.9% last year due to lockdowns.

Restrictions will start to ease next week as the government restores free travel between moderate-risk regions, where bars and restaurants will also be allowed to open outdoor areas. Italy has so far fully vaccinated only about 9% of its population, and is likely to miss a target of 500,000 daily shots by the end of this month.

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