Italy should adhere to its budget
commitments and pursue reforms, Eurogroup president Jeroen
Dijsselbloem said Tuesday.
"It is too early," to evaluate the reforms announced by the
government of Premier Matteo Renzi, said Dijsselbloem ahead of
an informal meeting of finance ministers of eurozone countries
in Athens.
However, the Eurogroup president urged Italy "to stick to
the agreements and procedures and to enact reforms so that we
might all become more competitive".
Italy's budget commitments are set out under a European
Stability and Growth Pact requiring member states to maintain
budget deficit-to-GDP ratios of 3% or less.
However, these conditions have forced government to raise
taxes and cut spending, arguably choking off economic growth as
the country struggles to emerge from its deepest recession since
the Second World War.
Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for economic and
monetary affairs, played up economic recovery in the European
Union, which he said was "gaining ground".
However, he also expressed concern about low inflation
across the eurozone.
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