Premier Giuseppe Conte said
Tuesday that he was not concerned after the European Commission
sent his government a letter requesting "further information
about the precise composition of the structural changes and the
spending developments foreseen in the budget".
The Commission said this information was necessary in order
to "establish whether there is a risk of a significant deviation
from the adjustments requested" for 2019 and 2020.
It said the reply should arrive on Wednesday.
It added that Italy's plans "do not respect the
debt-reduction target for 2020" because they envisage a
deterioration of the structural deficit of 0.1% of GDP rather
than the recommended adjustment of 0.6%.
"We'll give the EU all the necessary clarification," Conte
said.
"We are not worried".
European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said
Tuesday that the fact the EU has requested clarification from
Italy about its budget plans did not mean a showdown over the
package was in the pipeline.
"This letter is different from the one sent to the Italian
government last year," Moscovici said, referring to a recent
infringement-procedure near miss.
"It expresses what I have already stated, which is that there
is no budget crisis with Italy. "We are working in the best
possible conditions with (Premier) Giuseppe Conte and (Economy
Minister) Roberto Gualtieri.
"The climate is relaxed and positive.
"There is a risk of a significant deviation and so we are
obliged to highlight it.
"If we had wanted a change of budget or a change of figures
or policy we would have written that"
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