On funds and works of the Pnrr Milan is ahead. The problem will come from 2027. The housing issue

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The good news, far from obvious, is that the municipal administration is doing an excellent job with the PNRR. We are talking about the National Recovery and Resilience Plan developed by the government for the management of the Next Generation funds made available by the European Union to deal with the pandemic: Milan has obtained 980 million and can boast 91 interventions out of a total of 96 planned already completed or in the execution phase . Considering that the deadline is set for December 31, 2026, it is easy to predict that in this remaining year and a half the operation will be completed smoothly. The less good news is that the PNRR was an intervention linked to the exceptional nature of the lockdown, at the moment there is no replacement plan planned that the city would need if we consider that the available European funds amount to 1 billion 250 million: the PNRR represents almost 80, in fact the backbone of the EU-branded works .

To avoid the risk of finding ourselves with a nearly zero budget in 2027, last March Carmine Pacente , advisor to Renew Europe and member of the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels, presented a document – ​​approved by the Committee on Territorial Cohesion Policy, Structural Funds and European Budget – which yesterday was submitted to the plenary assembly of the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels for examination.

The initiative has a dual objective, as Pacente explains to Il Foglio: “ Unfortunately, without European support, cities are no longer able to guarantee strategic projects or essential services . This is why a strong European urban agenda is essential, which guarantees cities both decision-making protagonism and financial support from the European Union even after the PNRR”. More resources, therefore, but not only that. According to the representative of Renew – and president of the Council Commission for European Funds and PNRR – the mechanisms with which projects are defined need to be reviewed: “It can no longer be the center that decides, the municipalities that know the priorities best need to be involved in the decision-making processes” . A point, this last one, which represents the only unknown, given the total agreement of all European groups on the need for a greater financial commitment for cities. Pacente's position is also explained by the articulation assumed by the Milanese PNRR, unbalanced on mobility, to which 561 million (over 50 percent) and 40 projects have gone: "Priority has been given to the ecological transition and also to digitalization, hence the massive allocation for transport. However, housing has been penalized, to which a total of about 130 million out of 1 billion 250 million have been assigned: an insufficient amount to address a very delicate issue in Milan ". It seems obvious that a future plan will have to be set up with different criteria: "Beyond housing, today the priorities are welfare, the suburbs, security, urban regeneration: we have demonstrated that we know how to manage resources. The time has come to strengthen the municipality's skills ".

The European Committee of the Regions only has a consultative power, the document released yesterday will be brought to the attention of the Council, Commission and European Parliament: the post-Covid line on support for cities will be determined between the institutions and the political forces that animate them. It is difficult to imagine that the huge sums that characterized the 2021-2026 period will be made available in the new European Urban Agenda, even if Pacente does not hide his optimism: "Cities are taking on an increasingly important role, they are at the center of a new urbanization, it is important that the EU defines support policies" , he explains. A special contribution is expected from Raffaele Fitto, vice president of the European Commission and commissioner for regional and cohesion policy, regional development, cities and reforms, who has followed the work since the text arrived in the commission.

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