Brussels – Move forward, not to lose a penny, and not to lose face. Italy continues to work to obtain all the resources foreseen by the Recovery Fund. The request for the payment of the seventh installment of financing of the Recovery Plan (NRRP) filed at the end of 2024 is part of a process that so far has produced the expected results, given the amount of EU resources that the country requested and the expectations this generates among the partners. For 2025, the ruling coalition has already advanced the work, requesting an additional 18.3 billion euros on top of those already obtained from Brussels.
How much does the 12-star treasure (partly to be paid back) total so far? In 2024 alone, the government received about 20 billion as a result of the payment into the state coffers of the 11 billion fifth installment (Aug. 5) and the subsequent 8.7 billion sixth installment at the end of the year (Dec. 23).
Announcing that it fulfilled commitments and programs, Palazzo Chigi pointed out that Italy is the first country in the EU to have obtained six installments of the NRRP at the end of 2024 and even asked for a seventh installment. The statement reflects two truths: the first is an objective fact, the veracity of the data. The second truth is that Italy is the country that requested more European funds than any other: 191.5 billion euros in grants (68.9 billion) and loans (122.6 billion). Funds from a post-pandemic recovery mechanism — NextGenerationEU — are to be used by 2026 at the latest and require Italy to request and use them for the success of the NRRP.
Italy has obtained €121.6 billion to date from the European Union to finance its NRRP. Of these, 24.9 billion came in 2021 (pre-financing, paid on Aug. 13), 42 billion in 2022 (two installments of 21 billion each, on Apr. 13 and Nov. 8), 35 billion in 2023 (18.5 billion installment on Oct. 9 and installment on 16.5 billion on Dec. 28). The last, 19.7 billion is the fruit of the 2024 work, aimed at paving the way for the next disbursement.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub