From building crèches and upgrading railways to speeding up the justice system, Italy’s €194bn share of the EU’s post-pandemic recovery fund was meant to deliver a “once-in-a-generation” reboot to a lagging economy.
But as the deadline to use the loans and grants looms, Italy’s economy remains sluggish, fuelling debate over what the ambitious reforms-linked investment package has achieved.
“At the end of the day, we find ourselves in a situation where we have higher debt and there has been very little progress on serious reform,” said economist Tito Boeri, co-author of a book about the EU-funded programme, The Big Binge, the cover of which depicts €20 notes going up in flames.