Recognising that the EU economy is experiencing a serious disturbance, the European Commission has approved an amendment to an existing Italian guarantee scheme: this includes an increase in the budget allocation up to 3 billion euros, for the reinsurance of credit risk related to natural gas and electricity exchanges, in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The original scheme, approved by the Commission on 30 September 2022, aims to limit the risks currently faced by insurers by offering customers commercial credit insurance. Under the management of SACE, the Italian export credit agency, the scheme ensures that commercial credit insurance continues to be available to businesses, avoiding that they must pay their energy bills in advance or within a few weeks, thereby reducing their immediate liquidity needs.
Italy notified the following amendments to the existing scheme:
- an overall increase in the budget up to 3 billion euros;
- the period for which aid may be granted will be extended until 31 December 2023;
- the payment of energy bills by customers will see a longer deferral period (36 months);
- the introduction of the possibility of making the scheme accessible to enterprises with a maximum annual turnover of more than 50 million euros.