The Eurogroup, comprising finance ministers of the eurozone countries, urged Italy on Tuesday to take measures to comply with the European Union's monetary rules amid the country's ongoing dispute with the European Commission over what the bloc's authorities consider to be an inappropriately high planned budget deficit for 2019
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th December, 2018) The Eurogroup, comprising finance ministers of the eurozone countries, urged Italy on Tuesday to take measures to comply with the European Union's monetary rules amid the country's ongoing dispute with the European Commission over what the bloc's authorities consider to be an inappropriately high planned budget deficit for 2019.
In late October, the commission rejected Italy's draft 2019 budget, saying that it was not in line with EU rules on public spending and demanding that Rome made adjustments to the plan. In November, Italy submitted a new draft with only a few changes, which was once again rejected, with the European Commission reaffirming its stance that the plan contained "serious non-compliance" with the European Council's recommendations on Rome's economic policy.
"We support the Commission assessment and recommend Italy to take the necessary measures to be compliant with the SGP [the Stability and Growth Pact]. We also support the ongoing dialogue between the Commission and the Italian authorities," the group said in its press release.
�The European Council recommended in July that Italy reduces its structural deficit by 0.6 percent of GDP in 2019, while the country's structural deficit was expected to grow by 1 percent next year. The body also came to the conclusion that the Italian government was not complying with the recommendations regarding the reduction of the country's public debt. That is why the commission considered it appropriate to launch the excessive deficit procedure (EDP), which is designed to force an EU member to adjust its budget deficit in line with the EU regulations or potentially face sanctions.
The budget plan drafted by the Italian government envisages raising the budget deficit for 2019 up to 2.4 percent of GDP. While the deficit falls withing the EU limits, envisaged by the the Stability and Growth Pact and stipulating that the members' budget deficit must not exceed 3 percent of GDP, the country must also have a public debt that is below 60 percent of its GDP and Italy's debt has exceeded 130 percent of GDP in 2017. �
