Parliament adopts billion-euro build-up plan

Discussions continued in the Italian parliament until late at night, then it was clear: the country would be brought out of the crisis with a 250 billion euro reconstruction plan. The EU contributes a large part of the money.

From Moritz Pompl, ARD studio Rome The fact that the Italian parliament, i.e. the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, would approve the reconstruction plan was more a matter of form. Even so, there was still a lot to be discussed in Rome. “The fact that parliament receives the updated version just a few hours before the discussion is frankly a bit unacceptable,” complained Nicola Fratoianni of the left-wing party alliance Liberi e Uguali. And Francesco Lollobrigida from the right-wing national party Fratelli d’Italia also criticized: “One plan, 336 printed pages. And Parliament couldn’t even read it properly!” Prime Minister Mario Draghi, on the other hand, thanked the parliamentarians for their valuable work over the past few months. And thus rejected the opposition’s criticism that parliament was not sufficiently involved.

Italy receives more money than other EU countries

The headline above the ambitious plan could be: Italy should become more progressive, greener and fairer. It amounts to a government program, not only for these governments, but also for future governments. In the next five years, the country should get back on its feet – with a financial injection of almost 250 billion euros, of which around 190 billion from the pot of the European development fund “Next Generation EU” . Italy gets more than any other EU country. However, said Draghi, the economic and social damage caused by the corona crisis is particularly great here:

The pandemic has hit us more than our European neighbors. We have now reached almost 120,000 Covid deaths. Then there are those who have not even been registered. The gross domestic product fell by 8.9 percent last year. And unemployment has increased, especially among young people and women.

The birth rate is set to rise again

It is precisely women and young people who play a central role in the reconstruction plan: a total of around 50 billion euros is to flow into projects that ensure more social justice. It’s about 230,000 new daycare places and more all-day schools. For better education, universities of excellence are planned across Italy and more scholarships. In order to relieve women, the elderly and people with disabilities should be better cared for. Women who want to start a business should be supported through a special program. According to Draghi, the measures should help ensure that more children are born again:

We have one of the lowest birth rates in Europe. A woman has an average of 1.3 children with us. In Europe the average is 1.6. We have to enable our young people to have families. And for this they need three basic conditions: a good welfare state, an apartment and a safe job.

Southern Italy should particularly benefit

In the relatively poor south of Italy in particular, one is struggling with the problem that many young people have emigrated. 40 percent of the development funds should therefore go to the south – for example to relocate research institutes, modernize ports and create express train connections. This should make the south more interesting for foreign investors. 70 billion euros alone, and thus the largest item, are earmarked for the “ecological restructuring” of Italy, ie for solar and hydrogen projects, charging stations for e-cars or emission-free bus fleets. Draghi already has parts of the industry on board for this, such as the energy company Enel or the Stellantis auto consortium, to which Fiat also belongs. With the help of the companies, Italy wants to set up its own battery research. This is particularly important for the Italians because they are particularly exposed to the risks of climate change, said Draghi.

Draghi wants to pay off mountain of debt

The government also wants to invest a lot of money in digitization and innovation. What sounds a bit bulky means, for example, that more than eight million households and thousands of schools should get fast internet. In doing so, the country wants to become more modern and competitive. In addition, the health care system is to be improved after the experience of the corona pandemic – with more small hospitals and medical centers away from the big cities. Italy hopes the program will give a boost to growth. It also wants to pay off the debts, which have grown to 160 percent of the gross domestic product. The program must be submitted to the EU Commission by April 30th. If they approve it, the first tranche could flow by the summer.