Brussels, 30/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 30 April 2013, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, welcomed the appointment of Enrico Letta as the new Italian prime minister and urged him to continue with the reform process launched by his predecessor, Mario Monti.
Speaking after the vote of confidence in the Italian senate, Barroso said he was certain he could rely on Enrico Letta's commitment to continue with the necessary reform process so that Europe can deal with the challenges of the economic crisis to re-launch growth and jobs. He said he was certain that relations between the new Italian government and the European Commission would be fruitful and constructive. Letta said that Italy would respect its commitments to the EU, but hoped that would enable Italy greater room for manoeuvre in its negotiations with the European Commission for Italy to be able to finance economic stimulus policies. The president of the Commission will meet Letta in Brussels on Thursday morning. (LC/transl.fl)