Italy Just Can’t Work Out How to Spend Its Record EU Jackpot

Bureaucracy is hindering disbursement of Brussels billions
Town’s struggle to build a preschool shows limits of system

When Monterosi applied for European Union money to build a preschool, its mayor Sandro Giglietti encountered multiple layers of bureaucracy taking 18 months to navigate.Photographer: Fausto Podavini/Bloomberg

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By Alessandra Migliaccio and Flavia Rotondi

July 22, 2023 at 5:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

When the commuter town of Monterosi, near Rome, applied for European Union money to build a preschool, a saga of frustration ensued that says a lot about Italy’s current problems.

Mayor Sandro Giglietti wanted to tap some of the €192 billion ($216 billion) in Recovery Fund cash earmarked for the country to bankroll an initiative aiming to attract families — a policy essential to boost population growth and female employment.