For the majority it is “the confirmation of the centrality assumed by Italy” in Europe with the government of Giorgia Meloni. For the opposition it is a “badge to show off” with delegations, those for cohesion policy and the PNRR, which “in the previous mandate of Ursula Von der Leyen had been assigned” to little Portugal. Depending on the point of view chosen to look at it, the executive vice-presidency of the European Commission obtained by the now almost ex-minister Raffaele Fitto, may appear to be a great political success for the Italian Prime Minister. Or a consolation given to Rome as a “founding country” and not for the political merits of Meloni. For the writer, the choice of von der Leyen represents both things. Which is good for the Prime Minister, but not for Italy.

A success for Meloni

From the prime minister’s point of view, negotiations for the new EU Commission have been uphill from the start. As leader of the ECR, the European Conservative Party, Meloni has had to work hard to maintain the good relations with von der Leyen and Manfred Weber’s EPP, built during the first part of her mandate at Palazzo Chigi. Rowing against her are the socialists and liberals, the other two components of the so-called Ursula majority that holds the reins of the executive and the EU Parliament. Among European leaders, it seems that French President Emmanuel Macron has been the most active in trying to trip up Meloni, also because of their common aims towards the delicate economic portfolios of von der Leyen’s new team.

In all of this, Meloni has tried to keep a foot in both camps: on the one hand, she has kept the bridges with the EPP under wraps, also thanks to the mediation of Minister Antonio Tajani (one of the leading figures of the European People’s Party). On the other, she has publicly acted as the leader of the right-wing opposition, also to avoid being overtaken on her own ground by the new Patriots of Viktor Orban and Marine Le Pen. The most dramatic moment came at the end of June, a few weeks after the European elections, when the Prime Minister abstained from the vote of the EU Council that reconfirmed von der Leyen. It seemed like a suicidal move, but in the long run Meloni got what she asked for: an executive vice-presidency in the new Commission. And it was not a given.

Smoke and roast

In essence, Fitto will be part of the small circle of commissioners who are responsible for the direct management of a Directorate General (the EU “ministries”) and the coordination of colleagues with portfolios similar to his. The current minister will deal with what he is managing in Rome, the cohesion policy (EU funds for the regions, so to speak) and the PNRR. These are two lines of investment that are worth about 1,000 billion euros overall, even if most of them have already been spent. But the high-sounding figure risks overestimating the importance of the role: Fitto’s seat has so far been occupied by Portugal with Elisa Ferreira, and before that by Romania. Certainly not countries with weight in the EU balance.

The role of “vigilant”

Moreover, managing cohesion policy does not mean deciding how these funds are spent: the division of EU resources for the regions is not up to the Commission, but to the leaders of the Member States, and in any case it was already decided years ago. Until 2027, Fitto will have the role of “watchdog” on how this money is used by the countries and regions (including the Italian regions of the South, which have always been among the most problematic). For the next EU budget, which will start in 2028, the role of the new commissioner will then be to work on the reform of cohesion policy. According to what has been circulating for some time in Brussels (and as confirmed between the lines in the letter of assignment sent to Fitto), von der Leyen wants to implement the model of the NextGeneration EU PNRR, i.e. funds to the countries in exchange for the reforms agreed with the Commission. Some might see this as an attack on the sovereignty of the States (and Italy). And Meloni’s right-hand man will be one of the architects of this reform.

The risks on the PNRR

A similar argument applies to the PNRRs, which expire in 2026. The EU Court of Auditors recently highlighted the serious delays of EU governments in spending the funds and implementing reforms. Fitto will be responsible for ensuring “complete and successful implementation” of these plans, according to von der Leyen’s letter. A delicate task, given the premises. Furthermore, Fitto risks having to nitpick himself, given that as a minister he managed the Italian PNRR. Perhaps for this very reason, the President of the Commission has decided to place Valdis Dombrovskis alongside him in supervising NextGeneration EU: the Latvian, in his third consecutive term as commissioner, knows the mechanisms of the Berlaymont, the Commission building, well and is known for his hawkish positions on rigor and the correct spending of public funds.

The Draghi Report

So far, the two main delegations obtained by Italy: the rest are secondary missions, in which Fitto is invited to give his “contribution”, such as the plans for climate adaptation and social housing. Leafing through the list of “tasks” assigned to the other vice-presidents, that of the Italian commissioner seems more than meager. And above all, a key element is missing: Mario Draghi’s report on competitiveness. The document drawn up by the former governor of the ECB is cited several times by von der Leyen in the letters of assignment for the most important economic portfolios (but not in Fitto’s). It is known that it is around this document that the German wants to shape her second mandate, together with the Green Deal.

The weighty wallets of Spain, France and the anti-Italy hawk

The Draghi report will be handled first and foremost by the two executive vice-presidents with the heaviest portfolios: Spanish socialist Teresa Ribera (Just, Clean and Competitive Transition) and French liberal Stéphane Séjourné (Industrial Strategy). From cars to critical materials, from mega energy projects to those in the digital field, through artificial intelligence, the single market, state aid, competition: the “envoys” of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and President Macron will manage the heart of the EU’s economic measures. Including the new Competitiveness Fund, where the 800 billion requested by Draghi in his report could be placed to counter the deindustrialization of Europe in the face of competition from the US and China.

Also lending them a hand will be the Dutch Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, and the aforementioned Dombrovskis, who will manage in particular the Stability and Growth Pact. Both of these commissioners will have a weighty voice in the implementation of the Draghi report and in the allocation of any enormous resources that will be put at the service of industry and small and medium-sized enterprises. About Dombrovskis, the newspaper “Il Giornale” wrote some time ago that “he has an obsession with Italy and its debt”. Hoekstra, for his part, had infuriated the entire Italian political spectrum when, in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, he opposed the Recovery Fund as Finance Minister of the Netherlands, inviting Brussels to investigate our country’s accounts. Not exactly good business cards for Meloni. And in general for Italy.