The partnership agreement with the EU for the use of European Structural and Investments Funds is currently in full force. Italy is selecting the major works to be completed during the European seven-year programme 2014-2020. And there is a novelty: the agreement signed with the EU requires that we comply with the fundamental nexus between plan and project through self-assessment mechanisms, but it also identifies several result indicators for thematic goals, in terms of both value before the public expense and final target.

Other important public expenditure programmes, integrated in the Structural and Investments and Development and Cohesion funds, are preparing large liquid assets containers to fund and/or co-fund further measures promoting growth, including investment in public and public utility works.

Is Italy capable of meeting the EU planning quality standards? In our country, the role of economic analysis and assessment of public investments has long been debated. However, the experience of the Major Projects 2007-2013 revealed many critical aspects: according to the European Commission experts, 90% of them featured an insufficient cost-benefit analysis, 70% showed problems concerning the planning system or the assessment of the domestic market, 50% of them had environmental assessment shortfalls.