Germany passes bill to protect national economy.

Italian Government expected to issue the Protect-Italian-Economy Bill shortly

Bundesrat passed the “Corona-Krisenpaket” on 27 March 2020, 2 days after approval by Bundestag.

A large-scale economic stabilization fund (Wirtschafts Stabilisierungsfonds) of up to 600 billion euros has been launched. The German Government will be allowed to also invest directly in companies for a limited period of time, for a subsequent re-privatization. The aim is also to prevent the take-overs of national economic and industrial interests. The Federal Government is using the SoFFin – the special financial market stabilization fund – which has already worked in the financial crisis.

In addition, insolvency filing requirement under Bankruptcy Code (InsO – Insolvenzordnung) has been suspended until 30 September 2020 for the companies that have economic difficulties or have become insolvent due to the corona pandemic. If the relevant company was not insolvent on 31 December 2019, it is believed that the bankruptcy maturity is due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Incentives ensure that companies can work economically again and maintain business relationships.

For Italy, these are two examples of strategic measures for the protection of the national economy, confirming that the bill to be issued by the Italian government shortly cannot be limited to reinforcing the “golden share” only.