Premier Matteo Renzi said
Friday that Italy's main request for the European Union was not
flexibility in the application of budget rules but that the bloc
moves to change direction after years of austerity. "Italy is
not asking for flexibility from Europe," Renzi told a news
conference after meeting European Parliament President Martin
Schulz. "It is showing its willingness to help in the knowledge
that perhaps we must reflect together on the economic policy of
recent years. Europe must move together, but it must move.
"Flexibility in Europe already exists," he added. Renzi
has repeatedly called on the EU to focus more on fostering
growth and jobs and less on the application of its rules,
including budget ones. There has been tension between Rome and
Brussels in recent weeks over several months, including budget
flexibility. The European Commission is set to say in spring
whether it has granted Italy's request for budget flexibility
for spending on the refugee crisis.
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