Govt nominates Savona CONSOB chief

(ANSA) - Rome, February 5 - Premier Giuseppe Conte's cabinet on Tuesday approved the nomination of European Affairs Minister Paolo Savona as the new president of Italian stock-market regulator CONSOB, sources said. There will be no reshuffle as Conte will take over the European Affairs brief on an interim basis, the sources said. The opposition centre-left Democratic Party (PD) said Savona's appointment was illegitimate.
    "Minister Savona cannot be the president of CONSOB, the government cannot ignore the law," said PD Senator Simona Malpezzi.
    "There are many reasons that make him incompatible.
    "The minister worked for the Euklid fund, therefore a body under CONSOB's oversight, until May 1018," said Malpezzi, asserting the appointment would also breach other laws and saying this made for a "highly serious and unprecedented situation".
    Savona, who has been critical of the euro in the past, was the League and the 5-Star Movement's initial pick for economy minister in their coalition government.
    But President Sergio Mattarella opposed this and Giovanni Tria became economy minister, with Savona getting the European affairs portfolio.