(by Massimiliano D'Elia) Today in the Chamber the premier Giuseppe Conte reports on the economic maneuver, before participating in the European Council scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
The technicians of the Ministry of Economy and State Accounting have therefore provided the tables with data relating to the maneuver to be proposed in Brussels. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte therefore met the Minister of Economy Giovanni Tria and together they agreed on the need to go down in the deficit / GDP ratio to at least 2 percent to avoid the darkening of the infringement procedure.
Giuseppe Conte tomorrow should meet the President of the EU Commission Jean Claude Juncker to deliver a new draft economic document with a deficit / GDP ratio reduced by the initial 2,6 percent to 2,1 percent. Values very far from the 1,8 percent requested by the European commissioners. The pull and spring could convince the EU to share the 1,95 percent. At this point, it will be up to the measures of the income and pension of citizenship and 100 share for pensions.
To bring the goal of an agreement closer, it would be necessary to limit the pension reform to 2019 only, as the Union is asking. The League thunders: “we don't talk about it, it doesn't exist. The reform will be financed for three years, without any postponement ”. A comfort to the League's requests comes from the numerical data of the tables provided by the technicians on 100, to break down the Fomero law, which apparently will not cost as much as expected, because "statistically" not all those entitled will choose the path of retirement.
Savings would be around eight hundred million euros. An equal figure could be obtained from a technical review (extension of the measure) of the citizenship income. Finally, another eight hundred million could come from a series of savings obtained in the maneuver. The overall cut already given for certain is 2,5 billion, more or less 0,15% of the deficit. Then the government claims to be able to derive a further billion and seven hundred million from the revision of public spending, to reach 0,26 -0,3 per cent and reduce the deficit to 2,1%. Unfortunately, it is still not enough to reach the 1,95 percent leaked as acceptable by the EU Commission.
EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici said: "The Italian government seems more open to finding ways to reduce the 2019 deficit. But if they want to change our analysis, they must find concrete figures and commitments". What the EU Commission would like is 100 quota only for 2019 and the citizenship income starting in June 2019 and not in February.
Now Minister Giovanni Tria will have to try to convince Salvini and Di Maio of the need to cut more expenditure. The only certain thing is the tightness of time because the last "chance" is played in Rome, on December 19, the maximum limit to amend the maneuver and without an agreement with the EU, recommendations could arrive that same day Commission, which would effectively initiate the infringement procedure.