Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni met
bilaterally with President of the European Central Bank (ECB)
Christine Lagarde on the sidelines of the Euro Summit meeting of
EU leaders on the economic and financial situation in the EU,
sources said on Friday.
The talks reportedly focused on reform of the rules of European
economic governance, namely the Stability and Growth Pact, which
should be completed by the end of this year.
Italy has been dragging its feet on the reform of the Pact,
insisting that it needs to focus less on stability with strict
fiscal rules and more on growth.
Separately, sources said that during the Euro Summit meeting
Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe cited ratification of the
treaty for the new European Stability Mechanism, Europe's
bailout fund, but without citing Italy specifically.
Italy is the only country not to have ratified the treaty amid
concerns about budget sovereignty and claims the fund should
also be used for growth.
However, it has been coming under mounting pressure to do so in
order that other countries can use the mechanism if necessary.
Earlier Donohoe said he understood that "this is a really
sensitive political issue and a problem for the Italian
parliament, but the priority that we will all have to address if
the treaty is not ratified is that no country will be able to
access (the ESM) in the future if we are in a crisis situation".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
