Qualitaly_121

FEB. MAR. 2021 VI I through the management of the so- called ‘residues’, i.e. the European funds, again from the 2014-2020 agenda, that Italy was not able to use and that are ‘left over’ from the initial allocation”. It is only fair to investigate this subject further with Barbarisi himself, precisely to give support to those who are going through this difficult time. Let’s take it step by step and explain what an entrepreneur has to do, where this funding comes from and what the residues are. The first step is to draw up a business plan to present to the public administration, which is essential for applying for this funding. This is because the public administration, just like a bank, needs a clear and straightforward ‘project’ on the basis of deciding whether to proceed, obviously always taking into account a risk and error factor. Let’s start from this premise in order to link up with what is allocated every seven years by the European Union to Italy as an EU country, i.e. I am referring to the funding that falls under the so-called Agenda. The one that has just ended (2014-2020) included about 75 billion euros, of which only about 20 have been invested. The remaining €55 billion goes into residual management. Faced with such a situation, i.e., when Europe sees, as in the case of Italy, a pecuniary ‘residue’ of this magnitude, it still allows these residues to be used for one year. In short, it allows the money to be used as long as it is invested through calls for tenders and development projects. In the meantime, the new Agenda 2021 - 2027 has also started. How and by whom is this money managed? This money is administered at two levels: one through the national management by the Ministry of Economic Development helped by Invitalia with the National Operational Programmes (NOP); Invitalia opens specific calls for tenders covering different sectors, obviously always linked to development projects. The second level is connected to each Region that avails itself of a Regional Development Corporation, i.e., a public company that, on behalf of the Region itself, manages the money of the Regional Operational Programme (ROP); each Region has its own Development Company with respective variations also according to territorial characteristics. Specifically, the Regional Development Corporations manage the money that is sent from the Central State to the Regions for development and, again based on the growth needs of the Region, calls are issued to increase entrepreneurial growth. These calls can be reserved for investment financing and liquidity needs. According to the above, the money is there. Why is it so difficult to distribute it? The regions have great difficulty in administering this money. Obviously, it should be distributed to the ‘deserving’, and it is right and fundamental to give it. Unfortunately, only a fraction of the amount available is always included in the calls for proposals, which means that only a small number of companies applying are funded. All of this means that other companies that could benefit from important help in restarting or implementing new projects are significantly excluded. This is why we suddenly ask ourselves why, in the calls for tenders, the Regions only make available a few ‘pennies’ despite the fact that the money is there! This applies even more so to the national NOPs; even Invitalia, which we said works for the Ministry of Economic Development, in one of its calls for proposals, just to give an example, made available only 50 million euros. Looking at this picture, in my opinion, we are faced with a political will. In concrete terms, where can restaurateurs go for guidance on how to act? Are there any constraints or deadlines? Restaurateurs can find this information on the sites of the Regional Development Finance Companies and go to see the calls for tender. For some regions, it is easy to verify the existence of calls for proposals, but for others, the job becomes almost a “treasure hunt”. It should be noted that each call for proposals, be it NOP or ROP, has its own entry requirements which vary according to the objectives of the call. The timeframe also varies, ranging from a minimum of 40 days between the application and disbursement of funding to long periods; theoretically, however, for national calls we are around 3-4 months, for regional ones everything always depends on the same region, although, compared to the past, the situation has improved slightly. From the administrative-bureaucratic process and the publication of the beneficiary company, more or less 2 weeks pass before the entrepreneur sees the availability of liquid funds in the current account. Any other advice for the restaurateur? Certainly, the restaurateur must do everything to keep up to date. If he does not find anything or is in difficulty, the best solution, in order not to waste time, is to contact an expert who is often not the same as an accountant because the subject is often unknown to them. ______________________________ BOX A practical example Enrico Camilleri, Professor of European Policy and Programming at the Lumsa University and Senior Partner of M&D Business Consultancy, also provides an overview and precise indications, with particular reference to the Lombardy Region. “In the case of Lombardy, the ROP has a total budget of 970.4 million euros, of which around 650 million can be allocated to the productive sectors. These resources are spent through public tenders, each of which has a specific budget. With a series of measures issued between March and May, and most recently with the amendments to the temporary framework on state aid, it is possible to direct the sums not yet committed to regional programmes in favour of the companies hardest hit by the pandemic crisis”. Reiterating that each region has a budget left over, each has allocated sums for the sectors most affected, including the catering and HO.RE . CA sectors. “For example, Lombardy, with the tender ‘Si!’ Lombardy made available, between November and December 2020, more than 50 million euros for the most affected businesses. There is currently a Lombardy Region and UnionCamere announcement for facilitating access to credit for catering companies, with