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Pnrr: what do citizens know? An NGO project. The Court of Auditors reports deviations in spending

Will citizens' right to be informed about investments be ensured by an NGO project? The Court of Auditors reports a slippage in investments. The new decree law does not explain the changes in spending.

Pnrr: what do citizens know? An NGO project. The Court of Auditors reports deviations in spending

Citizens' right to know how and when Pnrr funds are spent requires open tools. The level of knowledge is important to make spending more effective and not leave it only in the hands of bureaucracy.

The Re Common e association Cee Bankwatch Network, one of the largest networks of NGOs in Europe, presented the MIRA project in Rome to keep the management of the Pnrr under control. They did this by siding with those who will benefit from the mass of money received from the EU. Among the points of greatest interest are the environmental transition and the real effects of the Green Deal.

The project falls at a particular moment in the EU's main strategy Ursula von der Leyen. The plan, under the blows of industrialists, farmers and various lobbies, is undergoing the revision of central points of the initial strategy. The closer the European vote gets, the more opposition to key passages grows.

In Rome the promoters of MIRA gathered around the question “The right transition for Italy: how are we spending Europe's money? ”. The first response is the involvement of citizens. What do they know? “Over the past two years, non-governmental organizations monitoring the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) have revealed an alarming lack of transparency, public participation and stakeholder engagement among member states,” writes Bankwatch Networ.

What does the Court of Auditors say?

The PNRR and National Plan for complementary investments interventions were also examined by the Court of Auditors. The judges noted a substantial achievement of the procedural objectives, the publication of the notices, the stipulation of the agreements with the implementing entities. But everything happened with one deviation between expected expenditure and incurred expenditure. It has weakened compared to before, but is "destined to lead to a shift in actual spending in the final years of adoption of the Plan".

The magic word is to simplify, to give meaning to territorial cohesion interventions which involve, in particular, smaller communities. In this regard the judges are very clear: "it is precisely the administrative capacity that stands out as a critical element of the Plan and its execution, with a further aim of preserving the quality of the interventions".

There is also the "right to energy"

Again for the green transition, the Pnrr's concept of circular economy must be expressed horizontally, without excluding anyone. Does Italy have this capacity? “The Pnrr has made gods step back with respect to transparency and public involvement. This creates a problem of opportunism on the part of the institutions,” he said Anelia Stefanova by Bankwatch. Let's try, then, to practice two-way reportingthe public administration towards the citizen, but also the reverse process, so that the citizen monitors and can make proposals.

The topic is vast and has motivated, among others, the OpenPolis Foundation which has analyzed the so-called "right to energy". The right of people to know what type of energy is supplied, its origin in the mixing of production processes. It's a piece of the transition that requires balance and realism. The information available today only comes from companies and some consumer associations. It cannot be enough if what is at stake is reorganizing production and consumption.

The new law decree Is there more clarity on the Pnrr? ​There are indications of spending review, a more central role of the mission structure, but the changes are not explained. The minister Raffaele Fitto welcomes the increase in spending. It actually rises by around 15,5 billion, but paradoxically it arouses more concern for "the reduction in resources allocated to the Municipalities for the post-PNRR period" - says ANCI today - rather than satisfaction, a mistery. Government with judgment suspended, but these days joyful Abruzzo is well worth a mystery.

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