(Finance) – “The Executive Vice-Presidency of the European Commission with responsibility for Cohesion and Reforms, a role entrusted to Raffaele Fitto by President von der Leyen, has a very important political value that confirms the centrality of Italy in the European context and recognizes the role and weight of Italy, a founding State of the EU, the second largest manufacturer in Europe and the third largest economy on the Continent. Furthermore, Raffaele Fitto, together with Commissioner Dombrovskis, has also been entrusted with the delegation on the PNRR”. This is what government sources reported in a note commenting on the appointment confirmed today on the occasion of the Presentation of the new European Commission. There are six proposed executive vice-presidencies: in addition to Fitto, there are the Spanish Teresa Ribera, the Finnish Henna Virkkunen, the French Stéphane Séjourné, the Estonian Kaja Kallas, the Romanian Roxana Minzatu
“Vice President Fitto’s task, as written by von der Leyen in the ‘mission letter, will be to ‘ensure that the EU continues to support long-lasting reforms and investments that directly contribute to strengthening European growth’. As specified in the ‘mission letter’ of Commission President von der Leyen, – the sources continue – the Vice President’s area of responsibility includes matters of crucial importance and strategic interest for Europe and Italy entrusted to other Commissioners who report to Fitto: agriculture, transport and tourism, fisheries and the blue economy. Cohesion is worth approximately 378 billion overall (of which approximately 43 for Italy) for the 2021-2027 cycle, not counting the future programming cycle (currently unquantifiable but presumably of similar scope) that the next Commission will be called upon to define together with the Member States. For a State like Italy, and especially for the Mezzogiorno, this is a primary national interest. The same goes for reforms and regional development in a context where the regional dimension is taking on an increasingly important role”.