Cdm OKs infrastructure and Campi Flegrei decrees. Musumeci: "Region and municipalities severely responsible. From 400 to 900 euro a month to those who leave their homes".

Musumeci clarified that 'people forced to leave their homes in the Campi Flegrei area benefit froma contribution of 400 to 900 euro per person per month, which can be supplemented. The government,' he emphasised, 'does not intend to raise a single penny for illegal or second homes. I reiterate this to avoid fuelling easy expectations'. With the decree, he added, 'the ban on building new homes for civilians, excluding factories, factories, and workplaces is triggered.

The note from Palazzo Chigi, in particular, speaks of the recognition of 'an independent accommodation contribution in favour of family units whose main home has been evacuated due to uninhabitable conditions in execution of measures adopted, by the date of entry into force of the decree-law, by the competent authorities as a result of the seismic event of 20 May 2024. The contribution," the document goes on to say, "is disbursed starting from the date indicated in the eviction order and until the conditions for returning to the home are met, or the housing needs are met in a stable manner. In any case, the contributions cannot be paid out after 31 December 2025 and, in any case, they are not due if the housing need has been temporarily met free of charge by a public administration'.

Again: 'For seismic upgrading and the restoration of uninhabitable residential buildings, a contribution is recognised for restoration work in favour of households whose main, habitual and continuous dwelling has been damaged and evacuated due to uninhabitable conditions in execution of measures adopted after the earthquake of 20 May 2024. The grant is also available to households whose main, habitual and continuous dwelling has been damaged and evacuated due to uninhabitable conditions.

As for the Infrastructures decree, the draft that has reached the executive's examination envisages that by 31 July 2024 the concessionary companies for which the five-year regulatory period expires this year must submit 'proposals for the updating of their economic-financial plans', an update that must be 'perfected' by the end of the year. According to some interpretations, this would be a further preparatory step to the republicisation of motorway concessions being studied by the government.

The Infrastructure Decree also provides for the reduction of extraordinary commissioners and the establishment of an observatory to monitor them. Postponing to a Dpcm to be adopted within 90 days the "plan for the rationalisation of the tasks and functions attributed to the extraordinary commissioners appointed for the implementation of priority infrastructure interventions" (pursuant to Decree 32 of 2019 "Urgent provisions for the relaunch of the public contracts sector, for the acceleration of infrastructure interventions, urban regeneration and reconstruction following seismic events". Which provides for commissioners for 'infrastructural interventions characterised by a high degree of design complexity'). The rationalisation also concerns the 12 extraordinary commissioners specifically listed in the decree, including: the one for earthquake safety interventions on motorways A24 (Rome-Teramo) and A25 (Torano-Pescara) motorways; for the Port of Piombino; the Mose dams in Venice; the hydrogeological risk of the Gran Sasso; the rehabilitation of the A19 Palermo-Catania motorway; line 2 of the Turin underground railway; the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics; the Third Giovi Pass and Genoa railway junction; the reconstruction of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa; the Trieste-Ferera di Servola complex industrial crisis area.

A rule should also be included in the Infrastructure Decree to stabilise the rules of the cartular criminal trial in the Court of Cassation, i.e., the trial that takes place without the presence of the parties but with proceedings through written documents.

News also on the subject of crypto-assets. In an ad hoc legislative decree, the government adopts the EU rules (EU regulation 1114 of 2023 on crypto-assets markets) on the issuance, supervision, and sanctions of electronic money tokens. Administrative fines are introduced against companies that start at EUR 30,000 and can go up to EUR 5 million, or, if the amount is higher, a sum ranging from 3 to 12.5 per cent of total annual turnover, depending on the rule violated. Administrative sanctions against natural persons, including legal representatives and company staff, are also introduced: in this case, the fine under the current wording of the decree can range from EUR 5,000 to EUR 75,000. As far as criminal sanctions are concerned, the draft decree introduces imprisonment from six months to four years and a fine ranging from EUR 2,066 to EUR 10,329 for anyone who 'offers tokens linked to assets to the public or requests and obtains their admission to trading' in violation of the provisions of EU rules. These penalties are also triggered for those who 'provide services for crypto-assets in violation of Article 59' of the European regulation that establishes capital and interoperability requirements for issuers of tokens defined as 'significant': this category includes all virtual currencies with technical characteristics that can reach 'a large customer base, a high level of market capitalisation, or a large number of transactions'. Also in the crosshairs of the new rules are those who issue 'electronic money tokens in violation of the reservation in Article 48' (offer to the public or request admission to trading of an advanced electronic money token by a person other than the issuer, ed.), or 'offer to the public electronic money tokens or request and obtain their admission to trading in the absence of the issuer's prior written consent'.

Offences based on the abuse and unlawful communication of inside information and those aimed at market manipulation are also under the spotlight. Anyone who violates the prohibition against insider trading or the prohibitions against unlawful disclosure of inside information or market manipulation laid down in EU Regulation 2023/1114 is punished (administrative fine ranging from EUR 5,000 to EUR 5 million). Failure to cooperate or take action in judicial investigations is also sanctioned.

Administrative sanctions can be applied by the Bank of Italy and Consob, except for those on the 'issuance, public offer and request for admission to trading of e-money tokens', on which the Bank of Italy alone supervises and intervenes. The implementing decree comes on the eve of 30 June 2024, the date of application of the European provisions on asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens.

Lastly, the bill introducing measures for frontier workers. With reference to the Italian-Swiss international agreement of 23 December 2020 on the taxation of the employment income of frontier workers, the text, Palazzo Chigi further explains, 'recognises the status of frontier worker also to those who perform, to the maximum extent of 25 per cent, their work in telework mode in the State of residence; recognises to the frontier municipalities listed in the annex to the measure the state contribution as financial compensation (restitution) for the lower IRPEF tax revenue not payable by frontier workers; introduces an optional tax regime for the so-called 'old frontier workers' residing in a specific list of municipalities'.