Giovanni Tria in Brussels for an "impossible mission"

The Italian Minister of Economy and Finance, Giovanni Tria, is in Brussels today to offer a “persuasive” offer to the Eurogroup, during the meeting with the 19 ministers of the Treasury of the euro member countries. This is the phase of negotiations between the Italian government and the European Commission which will hopefully culminate in an agreement in favor of Italy. The 13 November it is the “DEAD LINE” indicated in the letter sent by the Commission to the Italian government in which the maneuver was rejected and asked to rewrite it.

The Italian minister will try to convince the eurozone partners that the Italian maneuver, as proposed, can be easily digested for a series of reasons. One of the protests in Brussels is the optimistic Italian growth forecast set at 1,5%.

Brussels does not want to pass the agreement on the structural deficit agreed by the Gentiloni government last summer, which in 2019 foresaw an improvement of 0,6% and which instead, with a deficit of 2,4% for 2019, would worsen. 0,8%. Giovanni Tria, in this regard, will reassure the Italian deficit of 2019 that in all probability it will be less than 2,4%, as written, because the citizenship income and the 100 share on pensions will be expanded during the year, according to the actual growth of the 'economy. Doing so would save about 17 billion euros planned to be allocated in deficit to immediately implement the two measures, promised during the electoral campaign.

The Italian Treasury Minister, therefore, will remind the European partners that the Italian accounts remain, however, under EU control, because in the letter from the Commission it is clear that if Italy does not respect the agreements, the Commission could ask Rome to carry out retroactive measures, even for the year 2018. Giovanni Tria would like to avoid at all costs this hypothesis of an “external” intervention on the Italian debt. It would be a new mantra for the yellow-green government to be waved in an anti-euro function.

The good intentions of the Italian Treasury Minister will almost certainly clash with the most intransigent countries: Holland, Austria, Finland, Luxembourg and Germany. Dutch Economy Minister Wopke Hoekstra has already said he will reiterate "respect for the rules of the Pact, in order to have healthy finances".

An uphill road, therefore, for Minister Giovanni Tria who will be called to carry out a new "mission impossible".

Giovanni Tria in Brussels for an "impossible mission"

| EVIDENCE 1, ITALY |