Europe
Italy Prepares $3 Billion Aid Package to Help Families and Firms with High Energy Costs
• Italy is set to unveil measures worth approximately 3 billion euros ($3.14 billion) to help families and firms cope with high energy costs.
• Rising gas prices are a major concern for Italy’s government, as they may impact tax cuts introduced in its 2025 budget.
• The cabinet is expected to adopt draft legislation allowing the use of nuclear power again, after it was banned almost 40 years ago.
• The aid package will be effective for three months, with 2 billion euros set aside for families and 1 billion for SMEs.
• The aid package is part of a wider plan to build small modular reactors to help decarbonise Italy’s most polluting industries.
• The government is drafting rules to lift the ban on nuclear-fired power plants.
• Italy is also in talks with several companies including U.S. energy group Westinghouse and France’s EDF as potential partners for that state-backed company.
