(see related story on Conte)
Deputy Premier and Interior Minister
Matteo Salvini said Wednesday that the EU's budget rules were
good for France and Germany but bad for the other States in the
bloc.
"There may be some in Europe who are scared of seeing Italy
grow," League leader Salvini said in a live Facebook broadcast.
"We must be able to compete on equal terms. Some European
rules, some limits, were designed to help some people in Berlin
and Paris and to swindle all the others".
The European Commission has said an infringement procedure
against Italy would be justified for failing to respect the debt
rule and told the government to reply to it this week giving the
reasons why this may not be the case.
But Salvini, who is on a high after his League party's
triumph at last month's European elections, is pressing hard for
tax cuts to give a "positive fiscal shock" to the sluggish
Italian economy.
"I am sure that the European Union will allow Italy to grow,"
Salvini said.
"We don't have ignorant, foolish governments (here) any more.
"We are working day and night to deliver a fiscal shock -
cuts to taxes, cuts to bureaucracy, more investment.
"I don't want a country that walks, I want a country that
runs.
"It is necessary to have better salaries and cut taxes".
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