Zero structural effort - Moscovici (3)

(ANSA) - Brussels, May 3 - European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said Thursday that Italy's effort to improve its finances in structural terms amounted to "zero" in 2018. "These are facts that emerge from our forecasts and we can draw conclusions in terms of the surveillance of accounts," Moscovici said when asked about the Commission's request for a 0.3% deficit reduction.
    "But this is not a lesson for today. We'll talk about it in the spring package (on May 23)". Italy's economy ministry said, meanwhile, that it expects time to show that the country's public accounts for 2018 comply with European rules. The ministry said that, in its opinion, "the definitive accounts for 2018, which it will only be possible to appreciate in spring 2019, will prove to be in line with the European rules".
    "The structural deficit will remain unchanged between 2017 and 2018, according to the Commission's estimates, while the government has estimated a reduction of one tenth of a percentage point in 2018, starting from a 2017 balance that was better than in previous estimates".