European Economic Affairs
Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told ANSA in an interview Thursday
"the good news is that the Italian economy is finally recovering
and this will facilitate the reduction of the debt", whose size
"remains the main weak point" of the country's pubic finances.
Moscovici said that "with a 3% deficit Italy would not be
able to reduce its very high public debt".
He said Italy "needs to continue to follow what (Economy
Minister) Pier Carlo Padoan calls 'the narrow path' between
cutting the deficit and boosting growth".
Moscovici said "the 3% was conceived as a limit, not as a
target".
In other remarks, Moscovici said that to launch
the process of reform and achieving a greater "democratic
legitimacy" of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and in
particular of the Eurogroup, "there is no time to waste" because
"the divergencies that already exist inside the eurozone" must
be eliminated.
He said "the window of political opportunity to be taken to
intervene is now".
Moscovici also said that the EU's foreign investment rules
must be revised and that the Commission "will present concrete
initiatives in the autumn".
He was speaking about action repeatedly urged by Italy,
France and Germany to have greater control over foreign
investments into the EU, especially from China.
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