Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said Wednesday that Switzerland will not seek to recoup medical costs for Italians treated after the New Year's Eve fire in Crans-Montana¹.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin notified Meloni of the decision, according to ANSA English¹. The fire killed 41 people, including six Italian teenagers¹.

Meloni had objected in April after families of some Italian victims received large bills from a Swiss hospital¹. Doris Bianchi, director of Switzerland's Federal Social Insurance Office, later said sending those bills to families had been a mistake but that her office would still try to recover the money from Italy's national health service under an agreement with the European Union¹.

Italy's ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, said Rome would return any invoices, arguing the recovery mechanism should not apply because of Swiss authorities' moral responsibility for the disaster¹.

ANSA English reported the Swiss government has decided to waive reimbursement of those expenses on an exceptional basis, totaling about 1.5 million francs¹. Parmelin said the Swiss government was aware of the grief of victims' families and of people living with lasting injuries¹.

Meloni welcomed the outcome and said no financial burden would fall on the families or on Italy¹. Umberto Marcucci, whose son Manfredi was badly injured, told ANSA English the families were satisfied and saw the move as a starting point for compensation questions¹.