The Italian government is currently finalising a raft of measures equivalent to €3.4 billion - or 0.2% of GDP - aiming to ensure that the trajectory to bring the Italian government debt down in the medium term complies with the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact and thereby avoid the possibility of the European Commission opening infringement proceedings (see EUROPE 11731).
The Italian Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, told the press early on the evening of Tuesday 11 April that the country's public finances were in order and that this had been achieved not by increasing taxation, but by accompanying cleansing efforts with economic development and growth promotion measures.
The Italian finance minister, Pier Carlo Padoan, said that the measures under consideration, the details of which will be announced in the coming days, will correspond to a structural effort (not including conjunctural effect) equivalent to €3.4 billion. These measures, mainly fiscal in nature, aim to support the collection of taxes and fight tax evasion, he added. However, the government had still to finalise the scale of its spending cuts.
The Italian government has furthermore slightly increased - from 1.0% to 1.1% of GDP - forecasted Italian growth for 2017, which is predicted to stand at 1.0% of GDP for 2018 and 2019. Government debt, the Eurozone's second highest in relation to GDP after that of Greece, is expected peak at 133% of national GDP.
To accompany the additional budgetary effort, the Socialist government is planning to create specific financial support - jobseekers' income - for individuals able to prove that they are actively seeking work and/or undergoing training. More than 4.5 million Italians are currently living below the poverty threshold. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)