The 2026 budget, which is worth a total of 22 billion euros, arrives in the Senate chamber this morning after the green light from the Budget Commission. Approval should arrive tomorrow. Then the text passes to the Chamber, with a final vote scheduled for December 30th.
Social security, Salvini clarifies
«There is no risk of a government crisis, simply some technicians had planned to extend the retirement age in the coming years, to put more months on the backs of Italians. I said no”, said the deputy prime minister and minister Matteo Salvini, regarding the rules on social security.
Irpef, hyper-depreciation and measures for businesses and families
With the most well-known measures, such as the reduction of the second Irpef rate which drops from 35% to 33% for incomes up to 50 thousand euros, scrapping, short-term rentals, banks, insurance, building bonuses and aid for families, in the text approved by the Commission it is underlined that hyper-depreciation for business investments in capital goods will be recognized until 30 September 2028.
The measure is increased by 180% for investments up to 2.5 million euros, by 100% for investments over 2.5 million euros and up to 10 million euros, and by 50% for investments over 10 million euros and up to 20 million euros in relation to “investments in goods produced in one of the Member States of the European Union” or in states adhering to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, carried out from 1 January 2026 to September 30, 2028.
The cuts: Rai and the Development and Cohesion Fund
On the cuts front, in addition to the 10 million cut for Rai, the Development and Cohesion Fund is also hit, with resources reduced by 300 million euros for 2026 and 100 million for each of the years 2027-2028.
“In the end they decided to cut the FSC fund, which means with one hand giving money to the expensive material and with the other removing the works,” said Senator Raffaella Paita, group leader in the Senate of Italia Viva.
Transport: airports and local infrastructure
Something new concerns the airports of Emilia-Romagna.
From next year “the municipal surcharge on boarding fees will not apply” in the airports of Rimini, Forlì and Parma with “traffic of less than 700 thousand passengers per year”. In exchange, the Region will pay the sum of 1.9 million per year into the state coffers, we read in the text.
Still on the subject of transport, “an extraordinary contribution of 1.2 million euros” is granted to the Province of Potenza for the restoration of roads on the former SS 93 and the Foggia-Potenza railway line.
Security and Russia: funds for studies and strengthening of foreign offices
And in a historical moment of great tension with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, “to protect national interests”, the budget has allocated “a contribution of 200,000 euros” for each of the years 2026 and 2027 in favor of the Med-Or Foundation for research, studies and publications “on Russian influence activity” in Europe and North Africa, with particular reference to “military risks, sabotage actions of critical infrastructures, interference in electoral processes and infiltration in the political and media system”.
Again from a security perspective, from 2026 an additional 4.7 million euros per year will be allocated to “strengthen and stabilize the contingent of Carabinieri personnel on surveillance and escort duty at foreign offices”.
The parliamentary process and the race against time
According to the timetable, the text will therefore arrive in the Senate chamber tomorrow, while approval is scheduled for Tuesday. Once the vote in Palazzo Madama has passed, the budget law will be immediately transmitted to the Chamber of Deputies. In Montecitorio the general discussion will begin on 28 December, while the following day the government will raise the question of confidence on the text.
The definitive approval of the maneuver must take place by 31 December, otherwise the provisional exercise will be triggered, a condition that the Government clearly aims to avoid.