The Italian government has approved a new package of urgent measures aimed at restarting the country's economy, including a €3 billion investment in infrastructure works and increased funding for small and midsize companies.
The government decree is part of Prime Minister Enrico Letta's challenge to revive Italy's flagging economy which is now in its eighth consecutive quarter of contraction and facing record youth unemployment rates. Mr Letta is trying to balance conflicting demands from his left-right governing coalition over tax cuts and public spending, while sticking to his pledges of continuing fiscal rigour in line with European Union recommendations.
The new measures release almost €3 billion for infrastructure work across the Italian regions - mainly focusing on improving the country's rail and highway networks—and aim to create some 30,000 new jobs in the sector. The package also identifies new financial resources of up to €5 billion by end-2016 for small and midsize companies, boosting an existing state-backed fund and allowing more businesses to obtain easier financing for buying new machinery.
The new decree - dubbed the "To Do" decree - also targets red tape and aims to cut the number of pending civil justice cases, a long-time wound of the country's slow-moving judicial system. With the new measures, the government expects to cut 4 million outstanding civil cases by a quarter over the next five years.
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© Wall Street Journal
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