The European Commission has
warned Italy not to water down its 2018 budget bill in a letter
to the government in Rome, EC Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis
told ANSA on Wednesday.
"We recognise that Italy has made many efforts recently for
competitiveness and growth, (but) it is crucial that the 2018
budget is adopted without the main measures being watered down,"
said Dombrovskis, who wrote the letter to Italy along with
Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici.
"It should be applied in a rigid way to hit the target of a
structural (deficit reduction) of 0.3% of GDP".
The Commission said Wednesday that it had written a letter to
Rome saying that it intends to reassess Italy's compliance with
the debt reduction benchmark in spring 2018 on the basis of
validated data for 2017 and in the light of the final budget to
be adopted by the Italian Parliament in December 2017.
The Commission said that Italy was one of five EU countries,
along with Belgium, Austria, Portugal, and Slovenia, whose 2018
budget plans risk a "significant deviation" from the adjustment
paths towards their medium term targets.
It added that "in the case of Italy, the persisting high
government debt is a reason of concern".
Dombrovskis told ANSA Wednesday that he and Moscovici had
also warned Italy against reversing reforms of its pension
system in the letter to Rome.
"Italy must stick by the important structural budget reforms,
such as the pension reform, which support the long-term
sustainability of Italy's debt," Dombrovskis said.
"We have a good relationship with (Italian Economy Minister
Pier Carlo) Padoan and his team.
"We'll evaluate the respect of the debt criteria again in the
spring".
Italy's biggest trade-union confederation, the leftwing CGIL,
has announced it will stage demonstrations on December 2 as it
is not satisfied with government adjustments offered in relation
to an increase in the retirement age to 67, set to kick in in
2019.
The CGIL said not enough has been done in terms of exemptions
for people doing heavy jobs.
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