Press Review #SoseXpress 1-7 May 2021

Work is the foundation of the Republic. The Republic could not live without work, which will bring the country out of this emergency.

With these words, the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, opened his May Day celebration speech at the Quirinale. 

The debate of ideas 

 

What if we put students and associations to control the expenses of the Recovery and Resilience Plan? 

With the arrival of the 191.5 billion of the Next generation EU (248 of the total of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan - Nrrp), knowing how to read and interpret the data will help get out of the economic crisis earlier. "The 300 pages of the plan will come alive when they are implemented locally," and if someone monitors, it is easier to avoid trouble. Monitoring the system and controlling each resolution by which local administrations spend European funds is not a child's play. Still, it is done mainly by the students who join the Monithon project every year to closely observe the evolution of the most significant expenditure financed by Brussels. Here to learn more. 

 

What levers could be utilized to spend the resources of the Recovery Plan effectively? 

Italy has never stood out by its ability to spend EU funds. According to the reflections that emerged during the second technical table of the "Next Generation EU - EuroPA Comune" Project, greater involvement of the territorial PA in implementing, in a short time, the goals and projects reported in the RRP is essential to catch this unique opportunity. It is necessary to activate levers to improve the capacity to spend the European funds for the post-Covid economic recovery. The table was set up by the Research Center "Local Authorities" and the Economics and Management Department of the University of Pisa. Here for more information. 

Studies, research and numbers 

 

Ihs Markit Pmi: a historical record in the manufacturing sector in Italy 

Record growth of the Italian manufacturing sector in April. According to the IHS Markit survey, the manufacturing PMI index rose to 60.7 in April, from 59.8 in March, recording the most remarkable improvement since June 1997. Moreover, the increase in production was the third highest in the last 23 years.  Thanks to the strengthening of demand and better market confidence, the growth in new orders was the highest since April 2000. Here to learn more. 

 

Eurostat: Business registrations and bankruptcies in the EU remain stable in the fourth quarter of 2020 

According to Eurostat, in the fourth quarter of 2020, the number of registrations of new businesses remained almost the same compared to the previous quarter (down by 0.4%). The number of declarations of bankruptcies in the EU also saw only a small decrease of 1.2% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the third quarter 2020. Year-on-year comparisons show that the number of registrations of new businesses increased by 2.8% in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with the same quarter a year before, while the number of registered bankruptcies decreased by 17.9%. Here the press release by Eurostat. 

 

Intesa San Paolo-Srm: scenarios and prospects for the recovery of tourism in the South 

The study "Scenari e prospettive di ripresa della filiera turistica nel Mezzogiorno (Scenarios and prospects for recovery of the tourism sector in the South)," carried out by Intesa Sanpaolo and SRM - Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno forecasts a recovery of tourism in Southern Italy in 2021 after the decline of last year. The study analyses tourist flows in 2021 in Italy, particularly in the South, and contains specific insights into some regions: Campania, Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily, and Lazio, with a particular focus on the city of Rome. Here to learn more.

 

Ihs Markit: New historical record of Eurozone manufacturing PMI in April 

The Eurozone recorded remarkable growth in the manufacturing sector in April, as the latest Markit report on PMI, the indices on the expectations of purchasing managers of manufacturing companies confirmed. The manufacturing PMI index (in the final data of the month) increased to 62.9 points, compared to 63.3 in the preliminary estimate and expectations and 62.5 in the previous month. Therefore, the indicator of the state of health of the manufacturing sector exceeds the threshold of 50 points, which is a watershed between recession and expansion. Here a detailed article. 

 

Confindustria: industrial production in April (-0.4%) 

The Confindustria Research Center noted a decline in industrial production of 0.4% in April compared to March, which recorded an increase of 0.4% compared to February. Production increased by 73.0% in April compared to the same month of 2020, considering the different number of working days; in March, the increase was 39.4% over twelve months. In April, the volume of orders increased by 1.3% compared to March (+ 75.6% compared to April 2020), which registered an increase in order volume by 0.7% compared to the previous month (+ 41.5% annually). According to estimates, in the first quarter of 2021, the Italian Industry recorded a significant upward trend (+ 1.1%) which compensated for the decrease reported by ISTAT at the end of 2020 (-0.4%). Here to learn more. 

 

Eurostat: High-growth micro-enterprises tend to be young and are among the most dynamic realities of our economy 

Young companies are defined as enterprises aged five years or younger. Such realities are most commonly found in the Information and communication sector, accommodation and food services, and Administrative and support services. In these three sectors, more than 30% of high-growth micro-enterprises (HGEs) are five years old or younger. The share of high-growth micro youth is roughly 25-35% of all micro realities. In comparison, among micro-enterprises, the share of young enterprises is only about 15-20%. Here to learn more. 

 

The voice of Stakeholders 

 

Confcommercio-Terziary sector: almost 130 billion of consumption burned and 1.5 million jobs lost 

For the first time in the last 25 years, the service industry stopped pushing GDP and employment. Almost one and a half million jobs have been lost since the pandemic outbreak. Consumption in clothing, transport, leisure time, hotels, and restaurants collapsed. The Confcommercio research department raised the alarm: the share of value-added decreased by 9.6% compared to 2019 in this sector, including trade, tourism, services, and transport which lost 13.2% overall; the tourism sector has registered the most significant drops (-40.1% for accommodation and catering services), followed by the artistic and leisure activities (-27%) and transport (-17.1%). Here and here to learn more. 

 

Confartigianato: RRP and growth, GDP up by 15.6 points in six years 

The Plan transmitted to Brussels provides 4.9 points more in 2021-2026 than the January version. The data from the national accounts published last week highlight the growth gap between the two sides of the Atlantic: in the first quarter of 2021, GDP in Italy and the European Union fell by 0.4%, while in the US marked a leap of 6.4. %. An acceleration of growth in the coming years for Italy will come from the interventions of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), a document launched on April 26 and already received by the European Commission. The resources provided by the Plan amounting to 235.6 billion euros in the period 2021-2026 will allow the GDP to grow by 0.5 points this year and 3.6 points in 2026 for a total of 15,6 points above the baseline scenario. Here for a detailed article. 

 

Innovation 

 

E-commerce, Unctad (UN), Italy ranks eighth with 431 billion, 22% of GDP

E-commerce sales have marked a leap of 20% in one year. The sales volume of the world's top 13 companies rose to 2.890bn in 2020. Alibaba at the top, Amazon second, Shopify third. These are the data reported by Unctad, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The United States, with 9,580 billion dollars, equal to 45% of GDP, recorded the highest turnover in online sales, followed by Japan (3,416 billion, 67% of GDP) and China (2,604 billion, 18%). Italy is in eighth place, with 431 billion, equal to 22% of GDP. Here to learn more. 

 

Cybercrime, damage to production for 75% of hacked companies, more than four days of shutdown 

According to Trend Micro, 61% of companies fail to manage cyber risks adequately. In addition, 75% of companies that suffered an attack faced a production halt, and in 43% of cases, this interruption lasted more than four days. The Industry 4.0 paradigm requires more attention to cybersecurity, but companies are not ready to protect the "smart factory" from threats. The most significant flaws derive from technologies, followed by the human element and processes. Here for a detailed article. 

 

Digital Italy 2026: Strategies and initiatives for digitization in the Recovery and Resilience Plan 

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan was approved and sent to the European Commission. Within the Next Generation EU program, the European Union provided 750 billion euros to support the economic recovery after the pandemic. Italy is the first beneficiary, in absolute value, of the two main instruments of the Next Generation EU program. The Government's Strategic Plan for the period 2021-2026 provides 27% of the resources for "Digitization, Innovation, Competitiveness, and Culture". In particular, the allocation of 49.2 billion aims to promote the country's digital transformation, modernize the public administration, support innovation in the productive fabric, and invest in two strategic sectors of the country, tourism and culture. Here to learn more. 

 

Digital holds up to the crisis and pushes growth: the data by Anitec-Assinform

The digital market in Italy has held up, and 2021 marks + 3.5%, with ICT, systems, and content on the rise, thanks to the New Normal and digital acceleration. In detail, the data show that the most innovative components continue to drive growth and are above all artificial intelligence, cloud, blockchain, cybersecurity, web management platforms, or the elements most widely used for emergency management. The study emphasizes the need to structure these results beyond the emergency, and for this reason, the RRP is crucial. Here the data. 

 

How is the EU placed in the innovation race? 

The European Union is now aware of its delay in the "high-tech" sector. It suffers the consolidated disadvantage compared to the United States and the recent overtaking by China, whose weight in the sector has rapidly increased in the last decade. However, something has changed with the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework and the Next Generation EU: Europe finally seems willing to take up the challenge. Here for more information. 

 

Microsoft answers Europe's call: storing and processing EU data in Europe 

The data of European organizations and public administrations that use Microsoft's cloud will be processed and stored in the European Union without transferring data outside. The new procedures will be implemented by the end of next year. With this initiative, Microsoft complies with the second judgment of the European Court of Justice, which last July denied the validity of the Privacy Shield Agreement between the European Commission and the United States. Here the news on the Microsoft website. 

 

Smart working, the post-pandemic challenge begins in the PA

The 50% threshold for smart working in the PA has been removed, and the offices are ready to reorganize. The Minister of the PA, Renato Brunetta, highlighted this goal during the online event "The change of the PA", promoted by the Department of Social and Political Sciences of the Bocconi University, "always remembering that the PA does not exist to give a salary to 3.2 million public employees, but to provide services to 60 million Italians". Here to learn more. 

 

Gender equity 

 

RRP and the gender gap: "main priority" 

Within the Italian RRP, gender equality is one of the "main priorities" in terms of social inclusion. The plan provides two intervention lines to reduce the gender gap: investments promoting female employment, such as the "women's enterprise fund," and other allocations, such as 3.6 billion for nursery schools, 1 billion for preschools, to foster female participation in the labour market. But will they be enough to promote gender equality? Here to learn more. 

Almost 96,000 mothers lost their jobs in the year of Covid

Out of 249,000 women who lost their jobs in 2020, 96,000 are mothers with minor children, and 4 out of 5 have children under 5. This is the picture that emerges from the 6th Report, "The Equilibrists: motherhood in Italy 2021", released by Save the Children. According to the Report, the Northern regions are more mother-friendly: the data concerning these regions are well above the national average, compared to the Southern. The most virtuous regions are the Autonomous Provinces of Bolzano and Trento followed by Valle d'Aosta and Emilia-Romagna. Here to learn more. 

 

Local Authorities 

 

More resources from the Ministry of the Interior to local authorities 

The Ministry of the Interior provided more resources to local authorities. In recent years, the funds to support municipal investments, recorded in the Ministry's budget, have been significantly improved, from 220 million euros in 2018 to 3,770 million in 2021, to reach 3,488 million in 2022.

 

The world of MEF 

 

In April 2021, the State Sector working balance shows a borrowing requirement of 12.5 billion euros 

In April 2021, the state sector working balance is provisionally estimated at 12,500 million, a decrease of approximately 5,500 million compared to the same month of last year (17,958 million). The borrowing requirement for the first four months of the current year is about 53,650 million, an increase of approximately 4,800 million compared to the first quarter of 2020 (48,877 million). Here to learn more. 

MEF: tax revenues in the first quarter of the year amounted to 99.6 billion

In the period January-March 2021, the ascertained tax revenues amounted to € 99,683 million, an increase of 803 million Euro compared to the same month of the previous year. The comparison between the first quarter of 2021 and the corresponding period of the previous year is inhomogeneous since the lockdown, with the consequent economic measures to face the health emergency, was adopted starting from March 11, 2020. Here the Press Release of the MEF.