Italy 'in right direction' on unpaid bills says EC - update

(ANSA) - Brussels, August 19 - Italy is "moving in the right direction" on paying its massive unsettled bills to private-sector suppliers, which means it may avoid incurring disciplinary EU procedures, Industry Commissioner Ferdinando Nelli Feroci told ANSA on Tuesday.
    Italy's government sent the EC a 53-page letter Monday night, detailing how it plans to pay down debts it has racked up with commercial creditors while also trying to cut the budget deficit as the economy contracts.
    The most salient point is that the government has allocated 56 billion euros to pay bills which it and previous administrations have accumulated so far.
    The document also lists planned measures to prevent such debt from accumulating again, including a deal with banks, creating a guarantee fund at the finance ministry, and waivers from Italy's internal stability pact for regional governments.
    "I can't disclose in advance how the Commission will analyse the letter, but it contains a series of elements that go in the right direction," Nelli Feroci said.