Milan official warns of urban funding gaps after PNRR

Carmine Pacente, president of the EU Funds and PNRR Commission for the City of Milan, has warned that cities will face significant difficulties once the Recovery and Resilience Facility (PNRR) concludes without adequate replacement from European Union funds.

During an audit at Palazzo Marino, it was noted that municipalities are primary implementers of PNRR projects, managing approximately 24.5 billion euros across more than 83,000 projects. As the current plan nears its end, attention is shifting toward EU cohesion funds as the primary mechanism for territorial and urban development.

A debate is emerging regarding the 2028-2034 European programming cycle. One side advocates for a centralized approach where local authorities act primarily as spending entities, while others argue that large cities should play a significant role in the planning phase through dedicated territorial programs. Pacente emphasized that the outcome depends on whether the European Parliament introduces binding criteria or leaves discretion entirely to individual member states.