Covid-19: Italy adopts support measures to the tune of 32 billion euros

Italian Council President Mario Draghi on March 19, 2021 in Rome.

© AP - Alberto Pizzoli

Text by: RFI Follow

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Particularly affected in terms of health, Italy adopted Friday evening support measures of 32 billion euros to face the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy and support businesses and households.

Emergency measures in addition to the more than 100 billion euros already mobilized by Italy last year. 

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Third heavyweight in the European Union, Italy has just adopted new measures to provide a significant response to poverty and business difficulties.

Are the 32 billion euros sufficient?

" 

It is a partial response, but it is the maximum that we have been able to do

," said

Mario Draghi

, the head of the Italian government. 

Around € 11 billion will be spent on companies that lost at least 30% of their revenue last year.

The amount to be collected will be calculated on the basis of a maximum annual turnover of 10 million euros. 

And then, the Italian government is extending until the end of June, or even the end of October for certain companies, the freeze on layoffs which expired on March 31.

The same goes for the unemployment system, extended until the end of June for the largest companies and until the end of the year for the others.

One million more Italians below the poverty line

One billion euros will be allocated to citizenship income for the most disadvantaged, implemented in 2019;

the Covid-19 pandemic having resulted in the tipping of an additional million Italians below the poverty line.

Aid of around 900 million euros will be allocated to seasonal workers who cannot benefit from partial unemployment.

With these latest measures, Italy has now approved nearly 200 billion euros in additional spending since the start of the epidemic in February 2020. New stimulus measures should be adopted in April, according to Mario Draghi, which would make reduce the budget deficit from 9.5% to nearly 10% in 2021, according to a senior official in the finance ministry.

This increase in the deficit will also increase Italy's huge public debt, the second highest in the euro area after Greece, which reached 155.6% of GDP at the end of 2020.

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