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TEHRAN, December 19 - The European Commission said Wednesday it has reached an agreement with Italy on its budget plans, which the EU's executive arm had warned could break the euro's rules and lead to legal action.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said the "agreement is not ideal" but allows the Commission to avoid legal action against Italy, "provided that the measures are fully implemented."
The Commission, which supervises the budgetary plans of EU countries to ensure they respect the euro rule book, said it had been reassured by new fiscal measures provided by the Italian government on Wednesday. Italy's revised plans call for a budget deficit of 2.04 percent of GDP, down from the original 2.4 percent that had sparked the EU alarm.
Premier Giuseppe Conte told Parliament that the revisions maintained the populist government's key campaign promises of a basic income for job-seekers and a rollback on an unpopular pension reform pledged. But they include a tax on digital services and a "temporary solidarity contribution" from public servants receiving high-end pensions.
"We didn't betray and will never betray the trust of Italians," Conte said.
The Commission said no action would be taken if the measures "are voted by the Italian parliament before the end of the year." The Commission can launch sanctions when countries breach, or are in risk of breaching, the deficit threshold of 3 percent of GDP or when they violate the debt rule by having a government debt level above 60 percent of GDP.
Source: AP
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