After a long meeting, the Council of Minister has approved the Decree on Credit and Liquidity. As announced by PM, the Decree preview guarantees to SMEs has been closed, with 100% guarantees up to 25,000 without any assessment of creditworthiness; 100%, of which 90% paid by the State and 10% of the Confidi up to 800,000 euros without performance evaluation and 90% up to 5 million without performance evaluation with a mobilisation of 200,000 billion. Additionally, the allocation of 200,000 billion to support export, with a key role by Sace. It is foreseen a deferral of tax deadlines. As expected, the Decree will contain golden power provisions to control corporate operations and hostile takeovers not only in traditional sectors, but in the insurance, credit, financial, water, health, food supply, energy sectors in order to intervene if there are acquisitions of equity investments just over 10% within the EU. Finally, the Decree will postpone Regional and local elections, to be held in late autumn.
The powerful interventions will require relevant financial coverage, and the Eurogroup scheduled this afternoon will be a milestone. As per financial rumors, Italy has found a general framework agreement with the other countries of the Union on the use of the ESM. According to the draft, one of the option is the use of the Pandemic Crisis Support Enhanced Conditions Credit Line to provide aid to the States affected by the pandemic. The measure would be open to all and will serve to finance specifically the health services and the current and prospective measures to contrast the outbreak of the epidemiological crisis. The draft would share similarities with the position of Sholz and Maas, two Social Democratic German ministers that believe in the use of the ESM without strict conditions, from which Italy could draw up to 39 billion. The other option on the table is the creation of an extraordinary, but temporary Fund with EU resources advocated by France. Meanwhile, EU Commission is working a further intervention on State Aid rules aimed at allowing Member States to help companies through the injection of equity or through hybrid capital instruments.
The draft on the Eurogroup has created disappointments both in the opposition and in the majority. Matteo Salvini has declared that if the Government will open to the use of the ESM, his party will present a motion of no confidence in the Parliament. A group of Five Stars’ Deputies, members of Chamber’s Finance Commission also despised any possible intervention of the ESM fund. The difficulties between LEGA and Government raises during the session of Budget Commission of Senate, after the amendments of Rapporteur to Decree Cura Italia and the decision to proceed only on parliamentary amendments indicated as priority by Political Groups, Lega MPs overreacts. A new meeting of the Commission is scheduled for tomorrow, starting at 12. According to Antonio Tajani, from Forza Italia, the big obstacle in the continuation of the negotiation is the Five Stars Movement, which cannot bear a close collaboration with the center-right.