Budget Law and state-aid rules

Question for written answer  E-000945/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Raffaele Fitto (ECR), Raffaele Stancanelli (ECR)

The Italian Government’s 2021 Budget Law, Law No 178 of 31 December 2020, includes specific measures to boost the recruitment of young people under 36 years of age, workers in the country’s southern regions and unemployed women.

Funds for the individual measures will come from EUR 4.6 billion of national resources, to be disbursed in accordance with the rules of the ‘Temporary Framework for state-aid measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak’.

Some press sources report that these measures cannot be implemented as yet because Italy is still awaiting authorisation from the Commission. This is causing serious uncertainty for businesses and workers.

Can the Commission answer the following questions therefore:

• 1.What stage has the procedure for approving the Italian Government’s planned measures reached?
• 2.If there are reasons why the planned 2021 Budget Law measures to boost the recruitment of workers in southern Italy, unemployed women and young people under 36 years of age have still not yet been approved, does the Commission know what they are?