Italy’s prime minister calls for reform of EU spending rules

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called on Monday for reform of European Union rules limiting deficits to 3 percent of gross domestic product, ahead of a parliamentary confidence vote in his new government.

Published: 9 September 2019 14:40 CEST

Italy's prime minister calls for reform of EU spending rules

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte addresses parliament on Monday. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

“We also need to improve the Stability and Growth Pact and its application, to simplify the rules, avoid pro-cyclical effects, and support investments,” Conte told parliament in reference to rules that restrict European government budgets, including in heavily indebted Italy.

The pact was the main problem between Brussels and the previous government in heavily indebted Italy, which must submit a balanced budget to Brussels in the coming weeks.

Otherwise Italy could face an automatic rise in value-added tax on January 1st that would hit the poorest families the hardest and could plunge the country into recession.

Conte's new Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri is also reportedly “not a fan” of the stability pact under which EU members must consistently reduce deficits and target a balanced budget in the long term.

Photo: Herbert Neubauer/APA/AFP

Italy's colossal public debt currently stands at more than €2.3 billion euros, or 132 percent of GDP, the highest rate in the eurozone after Greece.

Brussels is constantly calling on Rome to reduce its deficit, and thus its debt. The outgoing populist government frequently clashed with the European Commission, mainly over public spending. It eventually agreed to reduce the deficit to 2.04 percent of GDP in 2019, instead of 2.4 percent, but the 2020 budget will again be problematic.

Member comments

Become a Member to leave a comment.

The strike comes after Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama — who is close to Meloni — called a top RAI editor to complain about a television report into Italy’s controversial migration deal with his country.

The Usigrai trade union called the strike from May 6 to May 7 saying talks with management had failed to address their concerns.

It cited numerous issues, including staff shortages and contract issues, but in first place was “the suffocating control over journalistic work, with the attempt to reduce RAI to a megaphone for the government”.

It had already used that phrase to object to what critics say is the increasing influence over RAI by figures close to Prime Minister Meloni, who leads Italy’s most right-wing government since World War II.

However, another union of RAI journalists, Unirai, said they would not join what they called a “political” strike, defending the return to “pluralism” at the broadcaster.

Funded in part by a licence fee and with top managers long chosen by politicians, RAI’s independence has always been an issue of debate.

But the arrival in power of Meloni — leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who formed a coalition with Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s right-wing Forza Italia — redoubled concerns.

Tensions erupted at the weekend amid accusations RAI censored a speech by a leading writer criticising Meloni ahead of Liberation Day on April 25, when Italians mark the defeat of Fascism and the Nazis at the end of World War II.

Both RAI’s management and Meloni have denied censorship, and the premier posted the text of the monologue on her social media.

In another twist, Albania’s premier confirmed Thursday he called senior RAI editor Paolo Corsini about an TV report on Sunday into Italy’s plans to build two migration processing centres on Albanian territory.

Rama told La Stampa newspaper the report was “biased” and contained “lies” – adding that he had not raised the issue with Meloni.

The Report programme claimed the costs of migrant centres, which are under construction, were already “out of control” and raised questions about criminals benefiting from the project.