The period of most acute impact of the pandemic was above all marked, at an economic policy level, by the need to intervene to protect the production system and incomes, with the aim of avoiding the irreversible fall of the affected activities. At the same time, the European Commission started a planning process which was implemented by the member states and which deals with the underlying issues of sustainable development and the structural criticalities of the various economies. On this second side we can try to outline Sicily’s position to identify the prospects for medium-term interventions.
The Next Generation Eu
The Next Generation Eu (NGEU) program was the European Union’s main response to the pandemic crisis and provides for interventions of up to 750 billion (of which 360 in loans and 390 in transfers) which are divided into various instruments, but the one with which it is the most resources managed is the recovery and resilience device, which conveys 672.5 billion.
To request the resources of the device, the Member States have prepared national plans to define a coherent set of reforms and investments to be carried out between 2021 and 2026. Italy officially presented its National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr) in dated 30 April 2021 to the European Commission. Interventions worth 191.5 billion are foreseen under the Device, in addition to those financed by React‑EU (another community program within the Ngeu) and by national resources 28.
The three strategic axes of the plan
The Plan is developed around three strategic axes shared at European level: digitalisation and innovation, ecological transition, social inclusion. It is an instrument that intends to repair the economic damage of the pandemic crisis, contribute to resolving the structural weaknesses of the Italian economy and accompany the country on a path of ecological and environmental transition. With regard to the reduction of territorial gaps, the government has established – with legislative decree no. 77 of 31 May 2021 – that at least 40% of all allocable resources, provided for by the PNRR and the complementary fund, should be allocated to the regions of Southern Italy. (PNC) and includes significant investments in social cohesion and gender discrimination. Sicily is specifically mentioned between the lines of the document regarding the strengthening of the Office of the Administrative Justice process (TAR headquarters in Palermo and detached section of Catania), the conversion towards hydrogen of non-electrified railway lines characterized by high traffic in terms of passengers with a strong use of diesel trains, to measures to ensure full management capacity in integrated water services. Furthermore, to the strengthening of the special economic zones (SEZ Western Sicily – SEZ Eastern Sicily), simplifying the governance system to facilitate the feasibility of interventions, especially in the context of transport networks.
Pnrr in Sicily: measures and resources and progress of interventions in March 2023
According to the monitoring data on the progress of the PNRR interventions (referring to March 2023) released by the Openpolis Foundation, 32 measures have been defined for Sicily, all concerning investments for a total amount of 18.88 billion euros, of which 5.37 billion in grants and 13.51 billion in loans, and 3.95 billion in complementary funds.
Most of the resources are foreseen for investments in “infrastructure” equal to 57.9% of the total amount of overall resources and followed by “ecological transition” (12.4%), in “school, university and research” ( 9.0%), in “business and work” (7.3%) in “social inclusion” (5.7%), in “health” (3.9%), in “digitalisation” (3.5% ) and finally in “culture and tourism” (0.4%). Of the 32 measures, 7 are still to be launched, 15 are underway, one has been completed and concerns the hiring of technical profiles to strengthen public administrations, 9 are late in implementation.
The projects relating to each measure are equal to n. 9,841, located in the territory according to the following type of planned intervention: 3,049 concerning the theme of digitalisation, 2,330 concerning the theme of school, university and research, 998 concerning the theme of business and work, 33 concerning the theme of culture and tourism, 552 concerning the theme of social inclusion, 322 concerning the theme of infrastructure, 1,974 concerning the theme of ecological transition and 583 concerning the theme of health.
It should be highlighted that the objectives and tools defined in the PNRR are largely overlapping with those of the new 2021-27 cohesion policy cycle, a circumstance which requires close attention to ensure that the resources of the cycle are programmed according to a logic of complementarity and additions to those of the Plan. These premises, as elements of uncertainty but also as challenges for regional planning, must be carefully considered when defining the development spending that contributes to producing the forecast scenarios.
Spending for structural purposes and economic forecasts
The regional public intervention, to be considered to frame the expenditure with structural purposes different from that envisaged in the PNRR, takes into account multiple instruments and the related financing guaranteed by the community and national cohesion policy funds.
In particular we list Po Fesr Sicilia 2014 – 2020, Po Fesr Sicilia 2021-2027; Complementary operational program (Poc Sicilia 2014-2020, Development and Cohesion Plan (PSC) as a result of Cipess resolution 32/2021 – ordinary section; Development and Cohesion Plan (PSC) as a result of Cipess resolution 32/2021 – special section 1 – art 241 of Legislative Decree 34/2021; Development and Cohesion Plan (PSC) as a result of Cipess resolution 32/2021 – special section 2 – art 241 of Legislative Decree 34/2021; Cipess resolution 79/2021; CAP Plan to safeguard significant interventions of the Po Fesr 2007-2013; “CAP new actions and anti-cyclical measures”; Po Feamp 2014-20: the European Fund for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and the Po ESF.
2024 represents the transition and caesura year between the conclusion of the 2014-2020 community programming cycle and the start of the new 2021-2027 cycle and therefore a peak in spending is expected in the two-year period 2023-2024 due to the need to complete all payments of expenses relating to the cycle that is about to end.
Source: Defr Sicily 2024/2026
