At the Puglia one and a half billion euros from Pnrr for interventions and projects which concern the young and the women. The sum was drawn up by the Openpolis observatory on the fourth report (published last winter) of the Court of Auditors.
They are not crumbs, but not even the most attractive slice of resources that belongs to the cities of Puglia. Just to give an idea, in the South there are those who are better off, such as Campania with 2.6 billion. And again: Sicily with 1.7 billion. In a context in which the aspect linked to the 40% threshold for the South has been respected (the share of resources that will be sent to the South, in truth, exceeds 66% of the total), Puglia remains behind. Bari and its surroundings are entitled to 1.53 billion euros, of which 1.22 for projects related to young people and 0.3 billion for projects related to women.
Compared to Puglia, several northern regions also received more funds. Lombardy actually has double the resources available (around three billion) but Emilia Romagna (1.7) also exceeds Italy’s heel.
The relationship
In the report, the Court of Auditors also compares the number of these projects to the reference population, i.e. women and young people (0-29 years). In this way – observes Openpolis – the regions most affected are Molise (3 interventions per 1,000 women and under 30s), Basilicata (2.8) and Calabria (2.4). Molise also confirms itself first in the ratio between resources and reference population (908 euros per capita).
The study already takes into account the updated projects after the remodulation of the Pnrr a few weeks ago. The projects examined are those which – in various ways – should reduce the gap between men and women and between young people and not young people. In particular, projects that provide for better integration of young people and women into the world of work. And this is why the attention to the South is evident. After all, this is where the greatest disparities are concentrated at a national level (just read the latest data on female employment, with Puglia, Calabria, Sicily and Campania at the bottom of the European rankings for number of workers).
Regarding the latest remodulation, Openpolis explains that among the interventions that have suffered a cut in resources, the most significant is over 1 billion less for the nursery school plan.
The reasons for this decision are not fully explained. Regarding increases, however, the most significant is that for the reform of active labor market policies (just over 1 billion). Again in the fourth government report we read that this increase was aimed at keeping the same number of training beneficiaries unchanged, despite the increase in implementation costs. Looking at the timetable – explains the report -, the changes to the measures on women and young people replicate the same model as the overall review. That is, a forward shift of numerous interventions, with a reduction in spending expected for 2023 and an increase in that for 2024-2026.
The purpose of the Pnrr
Ultimately, the aim of the Pnrr was also to restart the economy in the post-covid period by decreasing the strong territorial disparities between North and South. In this sense, measures linked to women and young people have a fundamental role. In the round of tables for the allocation of resources, Puglia probably did not shine. Moreover, doubts had been raised several times in the South about the Pnrr model: delegating projects to Municipalities or various bodies (this also includes funds for schools, for example) had left some doubts, also due to staff shortages . And another game linked to inequality opens up. The next mission will be to ground the billion and a half that will arrive. To grow and above all to help women and young people grow.
G.And.
