Can pandemic recovery plan end Italy's years of stagnation?

A person walks along a hallway of Milan's Statale University, northern Italy, Monday, June 21, 2021. Backed by 261 billion euros from the EU and Italian government, the country’s recovery plan calls for a top-to-bottom shakeup of a major industrial economy long hampered by red tape, a fear of change, and bureaucratic and educational inertia. Leading the charge is Premier Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, who was tapped as head of a national unity government specifically for his economic expertise and institutional knowledge both in Italy and the EU. A key target is keeping more young Italians from taking their know-how abroad, a perennial issue in Italy, which has one of the lowest rates of university graduates in Europe and one of the largest brain drains. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Students walk past a billboard with notices in a hallway of Milan's Statale University, northern Italy, Monday, June 21, 2021. Backed by 261 billion euros from the EU and Italian government, the country’s recovery plan calls for a top-to-bottom shakeup of a major industrial economy long hampered by red tape, a fear of change, and bureaucratic and educational inertia. Leading the charge is Premier Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, who was tapped as head of a national unity government specifically for his economic expertise and institutional knowledge both in Italy and the EU.A key target is keeping more young Italians from taking their know-how abroad, a perennial issue in Italy, which has one of the lowest rates of university graduates in Europe and one of the largest brain drains. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Students sit in the courtyard of Milan's Statale University, northern Italy, Monday, June 21, 2021. Backed by 261 billion euros from the EU and Italian government, the country’s recovery plan calls for a top-to-bottom shakeup of a major industrial economy long hampered by red tape, a fear of change, and bureaucratic and educational inertia. Leading the charge is Premier Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, who was tapped as head of a national unity government specifically for his economic expertise and institutional knowledge both in Italy and the EU.A key target is keeping more young Italians from taking their know-how abroad, a perennial issue in Italy, which has one of the lowest rates of university graduates in Europe and one of the largest brain drains. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Italian Institute of Technology, IIT researcher Velia Siciliano poses for a portrait in this Jan. 1, 2018 photo at the IIT in Genoa, Italy. Backed by 261 billion euros from the EU and Italian government, the country’s recovery plan calls for a top-to-bottom shakeup of a major industrial economy long hampered by red tape, a fear of change, and bureaucratic and educational inertia. Leading the charge is Premier Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, who was tapped as head of a national unity government specifically for his economic expertise and institutional knowledge both in Italy and the EU.A key target is keeping more young Italians from taking their know-how abroad, a perennial issue in Italy, which has one of the lowest rates of university graduates in Europe and one of the largest brain drains. (Duilio Farina/IIT via AP)

A student stands in the courtyard of Milan's Statale University, northern Italy, Monday, June 21, 2021. Backed by 261 billion euros from the EU and Italian government, the country’s recovery plan calls for a top-to-bottom shakeup of a major industrial economy long hampered by red tape, a fear of change, and bureaucratic and educational inertia. Leading the charge is Premier Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, who was tapped as head of a national unity government specifically for his economic expertise and institutional knowledge both in Italy and the EU. A key target is keeping more young Italians from taking their know-how abroad, a perennial issue in Italy, which has one of the lowest rates of university graduates in Europe and one of the largest brain drains. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

FILE - In this March 17, 2021 file photo, a newly university graduated student, wearing a crown of flowers, walks with a friend, in Rome. Backed by 261 billion euros from the EU and Italian government, the country’s recovery plan calls for a top-to-bottom shakeup of a major industrial economy long hampered by red tape, a fear of change, and bureaucratic and educational inertia. Leading the charge is Premier Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, who was tapped as head of a national unity government specifically for his economic expertise and institutional knowledge both in Italy and the EU. A key target is keeping more young Italians from taking their know-how abroad, a perennial issue in Italy, which has one of the lowest rates of university graduates in Europe and one of the largest brain drains. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia file)

Italian Institute of Technology, IIT, researcher Francesco DiStasio poses for a portrait in this Jan. 1, 2018 photo at the IIT in Genoa, Italy. Backed by 261 billion euros from the EU and Italian government, the country’s recovery plan calls for a top-to-bottom shakeup of a major industrial economy long hampered by red tape, a fear of change, and bureaucratic and educational inertia. Leading the charge is Premier Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, who was tapped as head of a national unity government specifically for his economic expertise and institutional knowledge both in Italy and the EU.A key target is keeping more young Italians from taking their know-how abroad, a perennial issue in Italy, which has one of the lowest rates of university graduates in Europe and one of the largest brain drains.. (Duilio Farina/IIT via AP)