ROME (ITALPRESS) – The European Commission has approved the new measures by which Italy supports the employment of women and young people and paves the way for the approval of the implementing decrees for the Youth and Women bonuses provided for in the Cohesion Decree (Decree Law No. 60/2024, converted with amendments into Law No. 95 of July 4, 2024). The provisions notified to the Commission envisage an expenditure of €1.1 billion, partly financed through ESF+, for the contribution exemption granted to employers in case of hiring, by December 31, 2025, of young people under 35 years of age who have never been contracted on a permanent basis and women, residing in the South of Italy, without regular employment in the previous six months. The exemption is capped at €500 per month per individual worker, rising to €650 per month in the case of young people residing in the South and women.The European Commission has authorized the Italian measure as state aid for employment compatible under Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).An “important milestone” for Minister of Labor and Social Policies Marina Calderone and Minister of European Affairs, Cohesion Policies and for the NRP, Tommaso Foti, “as it is the first authorization decision obtained outside the Temporary Frameworks, with stricter rules than those applicable during the period of the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine. This result, achieved within a stricter regulatory framework, is therefore even more significant than the authorizations obtained in the past,” it said in a note.For the European Commission, “the measures are necessary, appropriate and proportionate to achieve the objective as well as containing sufficient safeguards to avoid abuse and distortion of competition.””The European Commission’s approval of our measures in favor of women and young people contained in the Cohesion Decree is a success for the Meloni government and a great opportunity for the entire country,” Calderone explains. “We will be able to give new tools to young people and women to enter the world of work and from the combination of the various measures we count on creating up to 180,000 new permanent jobs. As we said on the occasion of the record numbers on employment in Italy achieved in these two years of government, there is still a lot to be done, and it is precisely young people and women who are the real added values that can give a further boost to the participation of more and more Italians in our world of work, thus strengthening our productive fabric. I want to thank all the offices, officials and managers of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, especially the legislative office, for achieving this milestone that is so important for our country. A heartfelt thank you also to our Permanent Representation in Brussels for its valuable contribution to the result. “The investment of 1.1 billion euros, provided for by the Cohesion Decree No. 60/2024, to incentivize and support the work of southern women, young people and the most disadvantaged categories, financed in part by the ESF+ fund, is an important step forward to create new opportunities for permanent employment and thus strengthen employment policies in our nation, reducing territorial gaps,” Foti stressed. Relieving the pressure of unemployment, especially in the South, is a strategic goal not only for the Meloni government but for the entire European Union. “The employment support plan envisaged by the Cohesion Decree contains a series of additional incentives, constructed in compliance with state aid regulations but exempt from prior authorization by the European Commission, in favor of young people and women throughout the country both in relation to employment and self-employment activities (entrepreneurial and freelance) as well as in favor of the long-term unemployed in the South.
– Photo Agency Photogram –
(ITALPRESS).
