Economy will bring Italian government back to reality

"It is not the EU who is 'punishing' Italy, but it is first of all the real economy which will bring the Italian government back to reality. A government which spends money without any sound judgement will be presented with a very high bill by the markets. First and foremost, the Italian government is shooting itself and its own citizens in the foot", said Françoise Grossetête MEP, Vice-Chairwoman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.

The EPP Group welcomes that the European Commission rejected Italy's budget and paved the way for an Excessive Deficit Procedure. "The Salvini government is deliberately pushing for a confrontation with the other EU Member States. The Italian budget indirectly affects all Eurozone countries. If we do not want to face a new Eurozone crisis, Italy cannot be allowed to spend money at the expense of the other Member States and its own citizens. It is perfectly normal that the EU Institutions are going ahead with the next steps of the procedure", Grossetête stressed.

The Italian budget indirectly affects all Eurozone countries. Françoise Grossetête MEP, Vice-Chairwoman of the EPP Group

Already now, Italy has to pay higher interests for government bonds than other countries. The interest rate for ten-year bonds rose to 3.8 percent in October, the highest percentage in more than four years. The Italian Central Bank announced at the beginning of November that this created additional costs of €1.5 billion for Italy over the last six months.