“Cohesion and Inclusion” of the NRRP
Within the Follow the Money column, today’s topic will focus on the Next Generation EU Programme, the European Union’s strategic programme in response to the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Recovery Fund, its financial instrument.A further point of discussion will also be the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRP), the financial instruments through which Member States can benefit from the Recovery Fund to finance an integrated package of investments and reforms. Precisely, Mission 5 ‘Cohesion and Inclusion’, one of the Italian NRRP’s chapter, will be analysed.
The ‘Cohesion and Inclusion’ Mission plays a major role in the pursuit of the crosscutting objectives of the NRRP and deals with the country’s major challenges, starting from supporting women’s empowerment and the fight against gender discrimination, to the employment prospects of young people, ending with territorial rebalancing and development of Southern and inland areas. With a total financial endowment of 19.85 billion euro (over 10% of the entire NRRP), the Mission is structured into 3 macro areas of intervention (Components), which, in turn, are divided into several investments (interventions/projects) and 5 reforms.
| Mission 5 | Component | NRRP Resources |
| Employment Policies | 6,66 | |
| Social Infrastructure, Families, Communities and the Third Sector | 11,17 | |
| Special Interventions for Territorial Cohesion | 1,98 | |
| Total | 19,81 |
Values in billion euros
Source: NRRP and Italia Domani
In line with the field of action of Large Movements, Mission 5’s Component II – Social infrastructure, families, communities and the third sector – will be thoroughly examined. This Component emphasises the social dimension of health, urban planning, housing, services for children, the elderly and the most vulnerable, as well as training, employment, family support, security, multiculturalism and gender equity policies. The aim of these investments is to prevent social exclusion by acting on the main individual and collective risk factors.
| Mission 5 – Component 2 Social infrastructure, families, communities and the third sector | |
| Investment title | Amount financed by NRRP |
| Construction and improvement of halls and spaces in adult and juvenile prisons | € 132.900.000 |
| Temporary Housing and Mail Stations | € 450.000.000 |
| Pathways to autonomy for people with disabilities | € 500.000.000 |
| Integrated urban plans | € 2.493.800.000 |
| Integrated Urban Plans – EIB Funding | € 272.000.000 |
| Integrated Urban Plans – Overcoming squatter settlements to combat labour exploitation in agriculture | € 200.000.000 |
| Urban regeneration projects aimed at reducing situations of marginalisation and social deprivation | € 3.300.000.000 |
| Innovative Living Quality Programme | € 2.800.000.000 |
| Support for vulnerable people and prevention of institutionalisation | € 500.100.000 |
| Sport and social inclusion | € 700.000.000 |
Source: PNRR and Italia Domani
A total of EUR 11.22 billion, namely more than 56% of the resources of the entire Mission, are allocated to such component, mainly programmed in favour of the urban regeneration and social housing measure.
Within this measure are the PUIs, the participatory urban regeneration programmes, aimed at the improvement of large degraded urban areas, their regeneration, and economic revitalisation, with a focus on the creation of new personal services and the improvement of accessibility.
More specifically, PUIs are divided into three sub-investments, each of which addresses a specific segment:
- A first intervention is dedicated to the peripheries of the Metropolitan Cities. Participatory urban planning is envisaged, with the aim of transforming vulnerable territories into smart and sustainable cities, limiting the consumption of building land. In metropolitan areas, planning synergies will be created between the main municipality and smaller neighbouring municipalities, with the aim of stitching together the urban and suburban fabric, bridging infrastructure and mobility deficits. Interventions will also be able to make use of co-planning with the Third Sector, as defined in the new Third Sector Code, and the participation of private investments up to 30% of their share;
- A second line of funding consists in the establishment of a Thematic Fund dedicated to supporting urban regeneration projects as a means of promoting social inclusion and combating various forms of vulnerability, aggravated by the post-Covid-19 emergency. Specifically, the Thematic Fund aims (i) to attract private finance to urban regeneration projects, (ii) to promote the development and implementation of long-term urban investments, (iii) to develop new and alternative lending channels and innovative models for urban regeneration projects, combining NRRP resources with private resources, and (iv) to accelerate investments in urban regeneration;
- A specific intervention is also planned for the recovery of decent housing solutions for workers in the agricultural sector.
Integrated Urban Plans to overcome squatter settlements to combat the exploitation of workers in agriculture
During NRRP negotiations, the European Commission pointed out the absence of a plan to counter undeclared work, i.e. the phenomenon of the exploitation of foreign workers in agriculture. For this reason, Italy adopted an ad hoc legislative reform. Combating undeclared work is related to the structural criticality of certain economic sectors and the social and contractual vulnerability of certain segments of the labour force, among which there are people with a migrant background. In particular, these measures had already been envisaged in the context of the three-year plan – part of the UN 2030 Agenda – to combat labour exploitation in agriculture and the black market economy. The Plan identifies 6 main themes related to transversal projects and measures to be implemented/implemented through the 4 strategic axes: (i) prevention; (ii) vigilance and contrast, (iii) protection and assistance; (iv) socio-work reintegration.
Subject, budget and objective of Integrated Urban Plans
These projects concern the recovery of decent housing solutions for workers in the agricultural sector with a total budget of 200 million euros. In particular, the intervention finances infrastructural works (renovation, purchase of buildings and land, expropriations, new constructions), for 70% of the financing, and non-infrastructural interventions. Non-infrastructure interventions mean support services with mediators, social workers, etc. The emergence and development of irregular settlements are fertile ground for the infiltration of organised crime groups, a phenomenon that contributes to making the living conditions of workers in these sectors even more precarious. The investment therefore seek to create or renovate housing for workers in the agricultural sector in order to provide them with decent daily living conditions and eliminate infiltration by criminal groups.
Activation procedure of the Integrated Urban Plans
Responsible and title holder of this measure is the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, particularly the General Directorate for Immigration and Integration Policies.For the purpose of activating the Measure in 2021, a national survey was carried out by the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI), aimed at surveying and mapping the territories with the greatest presence of illegal settlements. The results of this survey were included in Ministerial Decree 55 of 29 March 2022, by which resources were pre-allocated to the target territories: these are 37 municipalities located in 11 regions. In a subsequent act, the Ministry established the need for workers’ housing to be built in compliance with the principles of equality, equal treatment and dignity enshrined in the Constitution of the Italian Republic, European and national legislation and the 1961 ILO Recommendation R115 – ‘Recommendation on Workers’ Housing’.Subsequently, the competent administrations were required to submit a ‘Local Action Plan‘(LAP) for each identified squatter settlement by 12 December 2022, a deadline later extended to 10 January 2023.
Where do we stand?
According to the ANCI Update Report of 29 May 2023, 31 LAPs have been submitted of which 16 are ready for approval. From this little information available to date, a delay in the procedure is evident if one takes into account that 30th June 2023 was the deadline for signing with the competent Administrations (Regions and Municipalities) the agreements on at least two-thirds of the areas identified as illegal settlements, following the approval of the LAPs.
The deadline with the European Commission, on the other hand, foresees by March 2025 the completion of activities on at least 90% of the areas identified as illegal settlements in the urban plans.
Next steps
In addition to the concerns arising from the start-up delay mentioned above, there is also a limitation in the coverage of the topic in this article. With the Follow The Money column, LargeMovements will continue to monitor ongoing projects and keep you updated!
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Sources
https://archivio.caritas.it/materiali/Italia/qrrp/qrrp_num2_giu2022.pdf
https://www.anci.it/wp-content/uploads/Report-PNRR-e-ruolo-ANCI-29-maggio-2023.pdf
