Addressing the Italian press on Tuesday 16 October, Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, said that the institution could not support an Italian draft budget for 2019 that deviates too far from Rome's budgetary commitments.
“If we accepted the slip [of the Italian deficit], some European countries would cover us with insults and tirades with the accusation we are being too flexible with Italy”, he said, the Italian press agency ANSA reports. This comment seems to prejudge the opinion the Commission will return on the draft Italian 2019 budget, which was submitted to the institution yesterday along with the budgets of the other 18 Eurozone member states. The Commission's opinions are anticipated for 21 November (see EUROPE 12117).
The document submitted confirms the figures quoted by Rome on 4 October (see EUROPE 12111). Italy forecasts a nominal deficit of 2.4% of GDP and a structural deficit of 1.7% of GDP next year, representing a 0.8% deterioration of the latter, even though Rome is required by the rules of the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact to reduce its structural deficit by 0.6% next year.
It is also worth noting that the French draft budget corresponds to what Paris previously envisaged (see EUROPE 12102), namely a reduction of its structural deficit by 0.3% between 2018 and 2019, even though it is also supposed to reduce it by 0.6%. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)