As reported by Reuters, Wednesday will see the European Commission begin to take its first steps in punishing Italy for violating EU terms in their 2019 budget.
Key quotes
Around noon (1100 GMT), it (the Commission) will publish its opinions on the drafts of all the 19 countries sharing the euro, including that of Italy’s eurosceptic government, which has been revised only slightly from the version the EU executive rejected in October.
The Commission will therefore also publish a report that Italy is in breach of the EU law that says public debt cannot be higher than 60 percent of GDP, or, if it is, has to be falling towards 60 percent at a satisfactory pace.
Italy says expansionary measures are needed to head off an economic slowdown affecting the whole of Europe.
Economy Minister Giovanni Tria says France has been given greater leeway than Italy on its budget in recent years, and has pointed out that Italy’s “primary balance”, excluding debt-servicing costs, has been in surplus for almost 20 years.
But at 131 percent, Italy’s debt is proportionally the second highest in the euro zone after Greece’s. The Commission forecasts that it will remain at that level through 2020.
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