Launch event of the "CEPS-CDP Policy Workshops series” in Brussels
Over 100 online participants, 50 in-person attendees, 4 panellists from 4 EU Member States, 1 keynote speech by the European Commission. These are the key figures of the workshop on the implementation of National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) co-organized by CEPS and CDP in Brussels on June 14th.
As highlighted in the welcome address by Massimo d'Eufemia (Head of Institutional Relations and EU Programmes, CDP), this is the first chapter of a series of policy workshops that CDP will organize with CEPS in 2022 to stimulate the debate on policies issues central to the European agenda.
The event was opened by a speech by Johannes Luebking (Principal Advisor for the European Semester Coordination, Recovery & Resilience Task Force, European Commission). Mr Luebking offered an overview of the implementation of the 24 NRRPs already approved, whose implementation speed will be crucial for the success of the Recovery & Resilience Facility.
Following the Commission's speech, the four panellists pointed out the existing differences among the implementation strategies adopted by the various European countries. KfW (represented by Jan Klasen, First Vice President, Equity Investments & European Affairs) is playing a limited role in the implementation of the German Plan. Such plan, which has a relatively low budget (€ 25 billion, vs € 191 billion of the Italian Plan), is mostly dedicated to the disbursement of non-repayable grants. By contrast, Andrea Montanino (Chief Economist and Director of Sectoral Strategies and Impact, CDP) emphasised the significant involvement of CDP in the execution of the Italian Plan, including mandate management activities as well as the provision of advisory services to the Public Administration. Paula Letunić (Senior Adviser, Prime Minister's Office, Croatia) explained the pivotal role of the central Government in the implementation of the six chapters featured in the Croatian Plan. Finally, Unai Anduez (General Director of Strategic Projects of the Government of Gipuzkoa, Basque Country) pointed out that local governments, including provinces, are responsible for carrying out most of the interventions envisaged by the Spanish Plan.
The four panellists also contributed to identifying some of the critical issues that are emerging in the implementation phase of the NRRPs. As a matter of fact, the centralised and top-down approach adopted so far was useful to approve the Plans in a record time. Nevertheless, the ambitious time schedule envisaged for most of the approved measures as well the limited room for adjustments in the execution phase could, in some cases, compromise the quality of the final results.
The future of the European Union also depends on the success of the NRRPs. CDP is ready to do its part helping Italy and Europe succeed. For those wishing to learn more about the topic of the event, the entire workshop is available on the CEPS YouTube channel.