Economy Minister Giovanni Tria
went to the Eurogroup in Brussels on Monday for a fresh
examination of the 2019 Italian budget bill which has already
been rejected by the European Commission.
The Milan bourse was 0.13% down in early trading while the
spread was slightly up at 292 points.
Premier Giuseppe Conte said ahead of a visit to Algiers
Monday that "it's going to be a challenging week.
"So many Italians in difficulty are awaiting answers.
"We will have the eyes of Europe and the world pointed
at us.
"As always we will be up to the task".
A "considerable" correction is needed to the 2019 Italian
budget bill, European Commission Vice President for the euro
Valdis Dombrovskis said Monday.
"The EU is engaged in a discussion with Italy and hopes to
reach a constructive result, there is some margin, but it should
be noted that the Italian budget deviates considerably form the
rules, and therefore a considerable correction is needed," he
told Bloomberg TV.
The EC has told Italy to present an amended budget package by
mid-month, saying the current plan had an "unprecedented"
deviation because of its 2.4% deficit-to-GDP ratio.
Levying sanctions on Italy if it refuses to amend its 2019
budget bill would be the "worst solution", European Economic and
Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said Monday.
"A word I totally refuse is the word 'punish'," he said.
"I have never been a partisan of sanctions. Sanctions are
always what may happen in the end, but they are the worst ways
out".
Moscovici said he was in favour of "uninterrupted, continuous
and vigorous dialogue" with Italy.
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