Italy at odds with Brussels over using EU money for football stadium

Italy’s controversial plan to put €55mn of EU money towards renovating a football stadium in Florence has been challenged by the European Commission, highlighting Rome’s struggle to find suitable projects for the bloc’s pandemic recovery fund.

The European Commission has also questioned the Italian government’s plan to build two sport facilities in Venice, using an additional €93.5mn of the Covid-19 recovery funds, of which Italy is the largest beneficiary in the bloc.