The announcement by Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida of the Blue Bill allocating €10 million to fishing and aquaculture businesses has been welcomed by Italian industry federation Federpesca.
‘We appreciate this measure, which goes in the right direction, providing immediate liquidity support to businesses during a time of significant difficulty, as Federpesca has been stating for months,’ said Federpesca president Giovanni Azzone.
‘The zero-interest pledge, with a two-year grace period, will provide some relief to businesses currently struggling to meet operating costs.’
Federpesca has also welcomed additional measures introduced under the Blue Bill, including the opening for applications of the ISMEA portal from 13th to 30th October 30th.
The fact that these resources are earmarked exclusively for fishing and aquaculture is also appreciated.
‘Last time, the measure targeted both fisheries and agriculture, and our sector was penalised,’ said Federpesca director Francesca Biondo.
‘Providing a dedicated tool means recognising the specificities and challenges facing fishing businesses. If requests exceed available resources, we are confident the Government will consider supplementing the allocation. At this time, it was crucial to activate the measure immediately, and we are satisfied with this.’
‘We thank the Government and ISMEA for their commitment and attention to the sector,’ commented Giovanni Azzone.
‘We have worked closely with ISMEA in recent months, thanks to the memorandum of understanding signed with Federpesca. We will continue to pursue this work to provide fishing companies with concrete tools and prospects for the future.’
