13/04/2022 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 13 April, the European Commission made the first payment to Italy of €21 billion, excluding pre-financing, under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). This amount includes €10 billion in grants and €11 billion in loans. These payments are performance-based and depend on how the investments and reforms outlined in the Recovery Plan are implemented. In December 2021, Italy submitted its first payment claim to the European Commission, which issued a positive opinion at the end of February 2022 (see EUROPE 12900/26). This request covered reforms and investments made in the areas of public administration, public procurement, justice, higher education, the labour market, digitalisation of businesses, energy efficiency and the renovation of residential buildings. (AD)