Brussels, 21/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - Italy's Deputy Minister for the Economy Gianfranco Miccichè and Italian Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Roberto Antonioni held a meeting on Wednesday in Brussels with Italian MEPs on the financial perspectives 2007-2013. The meeting, as Luigi Cocilovo (ALDE) cited by the ANSA agency said, showed a “substantial identity of views” on this subject. Mr Cocilovo announced that a working group would be set up formed of representatives of governments, regions, social partners and MEPs, who are to meet for the first time on 9 February in Rome. Still according to ANSA, Miccichè was highly critical of the “extremist proposal” made by the six net contributor countries, who requested that a ceiling of 1% of GDP should be placed on the EU budget. He said: “This would in fact entail elimination of structural funds: it would be the first time that, in order to pay for solidarity with the poor, money is taken from other countries” (a stance hailed by Gianni Pittella, PES). Mr Miccichè said he way praying for an agreement to be reached in June. On the subject of the British cheque, he did not understand why it is necessary to maintain a situation that “no longer has any reason for being there”.