03/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - Speaking at a colloquy of the CNEL, on 2 February in Rome, Commissioner Mario Monti was highly critical of the Italian government's attacks against the euro. Without citing Berlusconi, Tremonti or Bossi, he exclaimed: "Stop speculating on the euro. It is unacceptable to have diverse positions on single currency, often expressed in a picturesque way within the government, and often by one and the same person (…). It is true that markets have speculated, but political speculation is far more serious - it disconcerts citizens and does not help our country to gain a leading role in European construction". He went on to say: "I consider it is a joke to say that the euro is an inflationary factor" as, in Italy, "it rooted out inflationary mechanisms such as the creation of currency and the public deficit dynamic (…) and very, very high rates of inflation".