Work continues amid cuts, amendments, and controversy to approve the new budget package drafted by the Meloni government.

The Senate Budget Committee has approved the government's new amendment, which includes aid for businesses and severance pay measures. The bill allocates resources for the Transition 5.0 and ZES tax credits, the Housing Plan, and refinances the Strait of Messina Bridge following the Court of Auditors' decisions.

The expansion of the number of employers required to pay severance pay to the INPS Fund also returns: from 2026, those with more than 50 employees (60 in the two-year period 2026-27), then from 2032, those with more than 40 employees.

The amendment eliminates the possibility of early retirement by accumulating supplementary pension benefits, with estimated savings of up to €130.8 million in 2035.

A series of ongoing changes have been harshly criticized by the opposition, who have even called for the resignation of Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetto. This request was rejected by the head of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, who stated that "the final result matters; we work for the country."

And on the elimination of early retirement with the accumulation of supplementary pension benefits: "That's something our government introduced last year, which apparently nobody cared about. I'm sorry, but it was clearly not deemed strategic."

As mentioned, the minority is attacking with all their might: "It's December 20th, and the government is coming forward with yet another mega-amendment that shifts billions, reopens the deadline for sub-amendments, and forces the Commission to work with austerity measures. This is a huge political responsibility. Minister Giorgetti said this is his twenty-ninth budget law: rarely, in all of them, has such chaos been seen. And probably not even in the history of the Republic," said M5S Senator Stefano Patuanelli.

(Unioneonline)