Government moves toward a new, lighter extension of the diesel discount

The Government is working on a new extension of the diesel price discount, but with a reduced cut compared with the one applied so far. The measure would be accompanied by a more targeted intervention: support of up to 150 euros for workers with low incomes, starting in October.

The measure fits into a legislative process already under way. The fuel decree has received the green light from the Chamber of Deputies and now moves to examination by the Senate, where it must be converted into law within the deadlines set by parliamentary procedure.

The available sources do not specify the exact extent of the reduction in the discount compared with the previous measure, nor the income criteria that will determine access to the 150-euro support. It is not clear, based on what has been reported, whether the new discount threshold will fully replace the one currently in force or whether the two measures — reduced discount and direct support — will operate in parallel for different groups of beneficiaries.

The sources do not specify the reasons behind the choice to lighten the discount while still keeping it active, nor the criteria that led to pairing it with direct support for lower incomes. Two distinct measures thus remain, whose essential content is known — a reduced cut on diesel and support of up to 150 euros starting in October — but not the reasons for their combination.

The timing of the final approval by the Senate of the fuel decree and the exact date the two measures will take effect remain to be clarified. It is not currently known, based on the information available, the precise pool of workers who will be able to benefit from the 150-euro support starting in October, nor the channel through which it will be disbursed.

The move from the text already approved by the Chamber to examination by the Senate nonetheless represents a fixed point: the fuel decree, in its current version, has already passed one branch of Parliament, while the announced changes regarding the extension and the support for lower incomes do not yet appear to have been formalized in a definitive legislative text.