Competition, the Procurement Code and aid in the bill: the dossiers today in the CDM

Discounts on bills, competition law and reform of the Procurement Code. These are the main points on which the discussion in the Council of Ministers focuses, to which is added the draft of a bill to ban the trade in synthetic foods. Below are the specific measures.

Bill decree

The financing of aid to families will go from the current 20 billion to 5 billion euros: part of the concessions expiring on 31 March will be extended by the government – from the VAT on gas reduced to 5 per cent up to the social bonus for families with an ISEE of less than 15,000 euros – but system charges will be reintroduced on electricity with a series of adjustments being defined.

The novelty concerns a new bonus for all families, with no income limits, which will be included in the 5 billion allocated: compensation will be provided when the price of gas exceeds a certain threshold. For businesses, the intention to set up remains a new tax creditcalibrated also in this case on a certain threshold.

Competition law

The government bill will try to intercept the nearly 170,000 street vendors distributed throughout the country, in the wake of the Bolkestein directive which took place eleven years ago with a state-regions agreement. The compromise that will probably be reached is an extension of the current concessions for the municipalities that have not yet started the proceedings until 31 December 2024, while the tendering will have to take place in compliance with a maximum number of headers to the same operator.

Also in the bill will be contained a rule that liberalizes the management of the periods and duration of the balances, hitherto in the hands of the regions. But the protest from Confesercenti has already arrived: “The sales are killed with a gift to online platforms and large-scale retailers”.

Reform of the Procurement Code

The reform of the Procurement Code represents an attempt to facilitate the implementation of the Pnrr, speeding up times and thus meeting European requests (the deadline for the third installment of the Plan has just been postponed by a month). However, the definitive launch may not be enough to solve the problem: in recent weeks there had already been talk of some difficulties in the transition that would extend the time to 2024.

Ban on synthetic meat

“This law lays down provisions on the prohibition of the production and placing on the market of synthetic foods”. This is the text contained in the report seen by the Agi: the goal is make the trade in synthetic meat illegal, with an administrative fine “from a minimum of 10 thousand euros up to a maximum of 60 thousand euros or up to 10 percent of turnover”. The document motivates the stop with the need to “protect interests that are linked to health and cultural heritage”.