Ahead of the June 8-9 elections, it is essential to analyze the main challenges the Union and its members – Italy included – have had to face over the past five years. These issues and more will have to be addressed by the new European Commission and Parliament.
Challenges, both past and present (such as the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) have widened the socioeconomic divide and had a domino effect across public administrations. They have also acted as catalysts, advancing the process of European integration through the introduction of extraordinary measures such as NextGenerationEU and RepowerEU.
Italy has been the beneficiary of 220 billion euro in post-pandemic recovery funds, more than half in the form of loans. It is therefore essential that those funds be invested – through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) – in projects capable of impacting positively on fluctuations in GDP. Quality of spending is a factor the country cannot neglect if it is to gain credibility and strengthen the common European project through shared debt-based financial instruments.
To that end, it is important to note that the recent reform of the PNRR has permitted Italy to increase the number of sectors designated for financing by integrating the program with cohesion policies. One example is the new Transition 5.0 tax credit plan. The goal of these initiatives is to evaluate and activate investments capable of seizing the opportunities generated by the crises at hand, with a view to transforming them into strategic and functional strategies for the future. There is no doubt that the PNRR has triggered a process of simplification and acceleration – the challenge lies in converting the extraordinary nature of this instrument into the ordinary management of public spending, with the aim of modernizing the existing system and ensuring citizens increased efficiency, rationalization and certainty of rights.
At the same time, it will remain a priority for future European institutions to pursue the process of strengthening the EU’s international role and ability to compete economically and politically with the other major global economies as the digital and ecological transformations evolve.
Some strategic goals that Europe has not yet managed to achieve, however, such as a common defense and Union enlargement, are even more pressing now given the intensification of the conflicts just beyond the EU borders as well as member state security concerns. From that standpoint, it is necessary that the new institutions be capable of identifying the main challenges and of achieving the imperatives they entail, ensuring that resources are not wasted on non-essential sectors and expanding the use of instruments such as Eurobonds for long-term strategic aims.
As for Italy, the country must proceed toward reinforcing the ascendent phase. National proposals must be based on what emerges from the government’s encounter with stakeholders if they are to influence the European legislative process. The country must make the most of its role and location in the Mediterranean with a view to confronting the energy challenge and achieving greater autonomy.