LUXEMBOURG - The European Union’s push to bring Italy into line with the bloc’s fiscal rules intensified on Thursday as top officials called for new measures to address budget shortfalls and raised concerns for the euro zone’s stability from Rome’s high debt.
“It is important to keep up with the commitments,” Mario Centeno told reporters before a meeting of euro zone finance ministers that will address Italy’s fiscal woes and discuss a pending disciplinary procedure that could lead to fines. But Italy’s Finance Minister Giovanni Tria said new data on the country’s lower deficit showed additional measures were not needed. Sounding more conciliatory, he added that he wanted to find a compromise with the EU and was ready to improve public finances if necessary.
Prompted to clarify how big a risk Italy’s rising debt was for the bloc, Centeno said: “I won’t mention precisely risks of instability ... but we need to reassure everyone that the commitment is there.”