Portugal RRP warnings

Experts have sounded alarm bells over the “bad management and poor application” of European Union’s NextGenerationEU Recovery and Resilience Plan funds awarded to Portugal and which total some €16.6Bn.

According to the Economics Experts Survey’ from the German institute Ivo, there exist “substantial concerns” over the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plans by countries in the South of Europe. (including Portugal)
The report warned about “delays” in awarding and the application of funds and even hinted at the “possible syphoning off” of funds.
The report produced by the Ifo and the Institute of Swiss Economic Policy (ISWP) is based on the research of 8,000 macroeconomic specialists in 130 countries and looked at the application of the EU RRP or ‘bazooka funding’ applied to Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Slovenia and Croatia.
According to the survey, the specialists are particularly “concerned” at the “bad management and poor application” of funds approved by the European Union to support economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.
And the RRPs of Portugal, Spain and Italy are raising the most concerns according to the survey with the specialists being of the opinion that the “money is being invested in the wrong projects”.
In the case of Portugal, criticisms were also levelled at the “delays in paying out allocated funds” for which a number of markers and targets were dependent on and associated with both investment and reforms.