Brussels, 11/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - Italian economy minister Pier Carlo Padoan says structural reforms to stimulate growth are top priority.
After the Eurogroup meeting on Monday 10 March, Padoan said he had given the ministers an overview of the medium-term structural adjustment plans of the Renzi government, noting that any reduction in the fiscal burden on labour (cuneo fiscale) to make the Italian economy more competitive would be covered by cuts in public spending, to which his fellow finance ministers had given their backing.
Pointing out that the budget consolidation rules had helped clean up public finances in Europe, the former OECD economist said that the focus should now be on growth-stimulating reforms. He described the current review of public spending as crucial and said that the Italian government would take action to ensure that the late payment of bills by the civil service was not repeated in the future.
Euro Commissioner Olli Rehn said that Italy would be providing details over the next few weeks of how exactly it is planning to encourage competitiveness and reduce its high debt levels.
Padoan held a meeting with the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, to discuss the Italian Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2014. (MB)