17/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - Commission lists investment clause criteria. On Monday 17 February, Euro Commissioner Olli Rehn said that it is crucial for both deficit and debt requirements to be met in order to activate the investment clause for the calculation of GDP. The deadline for submission of budget information for countries wishing to have the clause activated this year is 17 February. If a country's deficit is below 3% of GDP, the clause enables a nation to ignore some public spending (used to co-finance infrastructure projects which receive EU aid) from the GDP figures. Italy is no longer very enthusiastic about the clause and Italian Finance Minister Fabrizio Saccomanni said on Friday 14 February that the cost of activating the clause in 2014 would be at least as high as the expected benefits. (MB/transl.fl)