Brussels, 01/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - Italian prime minister Mario Monti is recommending tighter fiscal policy coordination at EU level and greater liberalisation of the service sector. He is pleased with the stronger convergence of budget policies that has now been agreed upon, as he explained to the five EU commissioners (Antonio Tajani, Olli Rehn, Joaquín Almunia, Michel Barnier and Algirdas Semeta) he met on Tuesday 31 January 2012, the day after the European Summit.
Monti assured Tax Commissioner Semeta of Italy's support in on-going discussions at the high-ranking working group on tax policy. He said he was determined to follow through the European plans to update national tax systems by shifting the burden of taxation from labour to consumption. He agreed with Rehn and Barnier on the need to make the most of European industry, particularly the network of small and medium-sized enterprises. (MB/transl.fl)