The Italian government has approved new corona aid

The Italian government has approved new corona aid worth billions. The Council of Ministers gave the go-ahead for aid totaling 40 billion euros, which is intended to benefit companies and households that are particularly hard hit by the pandemic. More than 26 billion euros from the package should flow to companies and self-employed who had to record sales losses due to the corona-related economic crisis last year. The tourism sector with three billion euros and industries that are still affected by the partial lockdown in Italy should also benefit from the aid. These include amusement arcades and discos. 100 million euros are said to flow into the ailing airline Alitalia, which has been under state administration since 2017 and has difficulties paying its employees' salaries. With the birth rate falling sharply in Italy, Prime Minister Mario Draghi also announced mortgage subsidies for people under 36 to help them buy a house and start a family. "This is a decree that looks to the future, to a country that will open up again, but at the same time leave no one behind," he said. The Italian government had already released 32 billion euros in corona aid for affected industries in January. In total, more than 130 billion euros have been invested in Italy since the beginning of the pandemic to cushion the economic consequences of the corona crisis. Italy was one of the countries in Europe particularly hard hit by the corona pandemic last year. The shutdown of the economy and large parts of public life had plunged the country into the deepest recession since World War II, with gross domestic product falling by 8.9 percent.