ECB likely to keep interest rates stable

MILAN, March 28, 2023 – The amendment to Italy’s "Codice degli Appalti" (Public Works Code) "introduces an important element: recognition of potential fluctuations in costs. This is crucial because our set of rules, in contrast to others, had not until now taken into account an adjustment to the value of public works due to a change in prices. This is something new that must be seen as being very positive."

Webuild General Manager Massimo Ferrari spoke on Menabò, a programme on Rai Radio Uno, the Italian state broadcaster. Ferrari recalled that "the discussion regarding the Codice degli Appalti is something very much required to meet the requirements linked to the Recovery Fund. That’s because it was one of the issues on which Italy was lagging.”

Another important point, highlighted Ferrari, "is that the text will be immediately put into practice. In other words, it will not require that a series of regulation be put into place, as had happened with the last one. There was a wait for it, and it took years and, in the end it, was never fully implemented. The new text is expected to come into force on July 1, so that the entities responsible for organizing tenders and the companies interested in participating can prepare themselves.”

With regards to the raising of the threshold for the assigning of contracts (from €40,000 to €150,000), and the invitation for bids without putting out a call for tender (€1 million to €5.38 million), Ferrari pointed out that "from a certain point of view, thresholds have been kept like during the COVID period. This simplification could certainly create various complexities and risks, but it is also true that during this period, no significant issues emerged. A huge delay can be seen in the implementation of the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), especially at the local administration level – meaning small- and medium projects – for lack of resources and technical expertise. So, simplifying things does really help.”

On the topic of interest rates, Ferrari said "the President of the European Central Bank will continue to pursue her rate policy as she has been doing, with regards to rate increases, with the goal of taming inflation, knowing that a great part of the journey has already been done. At the same time, I think that she is also aware that an increase in rates, in an unstable situation, due to speculation or for other reasons, cannot give the results that the ECB is pursuing. The ECB must therefore state, once more, the need to prioritize the fight against inflation. It must also reassert the solidity of Europe's financial and banking system, which is subject to very prudent regulation, as this allows stability for investors, depositors, and companies.”