Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said Wednesday that it would be bad if Italy is adjudged to have broken the EU's budget rules. He said this would have "negative effects on growth and on the expansive (economic) policy, causing the cost of servicing the (public) debt to increase.
"That is why we are assessing whether it is possible to find financial space to improve the balance between growth and consolidation of the public finances, without giving up our priorities". Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio said Wednesday that the government wanted to have talks with the European Commission over its budget plans but he added that it was not willing to drop key pledges. "We want to dialogue with Europe to find a solution but we cannot betray the promises we've made because we are not like the other governments (of the past)," Di Maio said. Premier Giuseppe Conte's 5-Star Movement-League government has indicated it could make some changes after the European Commission rejected its budget plan for 2019, which sees Italy running a deficit of 2.4% of GDP next year. But Di Maio said this would not lead to delays in the arrival of policies the government has promised to introduce, including a pension reform that will effectively bring down the retirement age and the 'citizenship wage' basic income for job seekers.
"The promises will be kept. "There won't be any postponements," said Di Maio at an event for the handing over of money taken the salaries of M5S Abruzzo regional councillors to be used for good causes.
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