The European Commission said Wednesday that an infringement procedure against Italy is justified because the EU's debt rule "was not complied with" in 2018 and will not be in 2019 or 2020 either. The Commission commented on the reversal of some pro-growth reforms of the past, such as the one regarding the pensions system, and the projected deficit-to-GDP ratio of 3% in 2020, saying these were aggravating factors. "Italy has not respected the debt rule and a procedure is justified, but we are not opening the procedure today," Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said. "There is a path for recovery (for Italy), others have already taken it.
"That entails not spending when you don't have space to do so". European Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici stressed that "my door is always open" to find a way to avert an infringement procedure.
"We are always ready to listen," he said. "Italy's data for 2018 are problematic on two fronts," he continued.
"Instead of being reduced, the debt rises from 131% (of GDP) to 132% and the structural deficit, which was meant to drop 0.3%, deteriorates by 0.1%, creating a 0.4% gap.
"Unfortunately, we see a structural deterioration for 2019 too, when the Council had recommended a 0.6% improvement and the Italian authorities had committed in December to not worsening it".
The office of Premier Giuseppe Conte, who is on a Vietnam trip, said Wednesday that "the
government notes the outcome of the European Commission's assessment.
In the Debt Report sent to the Commission, the government presented a series of justifications (so-called
significant factors) for the failure to respect the reduction in the debt/GDP ratio in 2018.
Looking ahead, estimates and assessments were supplied that indicate that in the current year
Italy will respect the dictates of the Stability and Growth Pact. The government intends to continue to dialogue with the
Commission".
Conte said "a corrective budget is not on the horizon. From monitoring the public accounts, constantly carried out, it merges that a sort of natural self-correction is being operated. We will explain it well in Brussels, we are reaching the programmed target, different accounts from those reckoned by the EU".
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