The Italian Municipalities engaged in the use of European funds will receive support from the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. The beneficiaries will primarily be investments in the sectors of the environment, infrastructure, start-ups and training. For a few days now, the Cassa has been accelerating its support for local authorities. There was a need, if only to reduce the temporal suffering (delays) in the use of community resources. CDP plays a supporting role which finds substance in the 'European Fund Investment Loan' project. It facilitates access to funds by municipalities, provinces and metropolitan cities. The new initiative makes it possible to anticipate the financial coverage of the projects eligible to obtain resources, both from the European Regional Development Fund and from the European Agricultural Fund for rural development. A series of bureaucratic and economic obstacles would have to be overcome for the use of the available money.
If the Institutions are able to take advantage of this further opportunity, the planned initiatives will be able to take off in a short time. Above all, they will not have to wait for the actual collection of the funds. The southern regions should use it to overcome the slowness of the 2007-2013 programming. The moment is very propitious for the initial planning of the 2014-2020 funds. The CDP instrument guarantees up to 100% of the financial coverage of the investments. A sort of "trust transaction" which provides for a period of use up to 2023 and amortization of the sums up to 20 years. Another novelty for the coffers of local entities, the Loan must be repaid in advance when the funds are collected, but without additional charges for the entities that took the money. The mechanism has been studied in detail to facilitate spending, particularly in those productive sectors in difficulty or in obvious backwardness compared to European standards.
