Government amendments on university housing and gender equality in public procurement

During its meeting today, as per the proposal by Minister for European Affairs, Southern Italy, Cohesion Policy and the NRRP Raffaele Fitto, the Council of Ministers authorised two government amendments to be submitted for the draft law converting decree law no. 44 of 2023, which is currently being examined by the Chamber of Deputies (AC 1114).
The first amendment regards the university housing incentive measures introduced by article 25 of decree law no. 144 of 2022 and aims to bring the regulatory text in line with the results of the discussions with the European Commission, finalised yesterday, which have made it possible to exclude them being classed as State aid. This amendment confirms, also at legislative level, that the aforementioned measures, which earmark EUR 660 million to make new beds available in accommodation or residences for students attending higher education institutions, will be immediately operative.
The second amendment regards the promotion of gender equality in public procurement, confirming, also in the context of the new regulations set out in legislative decree no. 36 of 2023, which will come into force in July this year, that companies will be rewarded if they adopt policies aimed at achieving gender equality and this is proven by the relative certification issued pursuant to article 46-bis of the Code of equal opportunities between men and women.