+Europa leader Emma Bonino told a Facebook-ANSA live forum Tuesday that her party's pro-European stance was stronger than that of her centre-left coalition ally the Democratic Party (PD). "Our Europeanism, with respect to the PD's, is more determined, constant, obdurate, not seesawing and more impassioned," she said. She said "the EU implies an attention for a constant policy, a way of seeing how it works, how to gain benefits from the European project".
Bonino went on to say that it was "irresponsible" to call for the scrapping of the 2011 Fornero pension reform, as the rightwing populist League and other parties do.
"I'm not a fetishist. The Fornero law can ne modified, tweaked but taking into account the compatibilities" with Italy's financial obligations, she said. "In order to understand the Fornero law you have to go back to the context in which it was framed (with Italy on the verge of a sovereign-debt crisis)". "Like all laws you can modify it, even though those who call for its abolition, I'd like to see where they'll get the resources (to do so). "That doesn't change the fact that it can be tweaked, but heavy jobs have already been removed and that life expectancy is 80. "Pensions cost 260 billion euros, twice the EU budget. "Asking to abrogate it is irresponsible".
+Europa is the biggest of a group of small centre-left parties allied with the PD for the March 4 general election.
Bonino has a higher profile abroad than many other leaders having been both former foreign minister and former European Commissioner.
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