Rehn confident Italy will hit budget and reform targets

Thursday in Rome, the Vice President of the European Union met the Italian Economy Minister Fabrizio Saccomanni

by  Laura Di Pillo for Sole 24 Ore

“If Italy goes ahead with privatizations and a review of public spending, it will be possible to activate the investment clause and it would make sense,” said the European Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn in Rome after the meeting with the Italian Economy Minister Fabrizio Saccomanni. “I’m confident Italy will hit its budget targets,” said Rehn, explaining this was the core of the meeting held.

The Finnish commissioner has then announced, “the European Commission may revise 2014 GDP forecast upwards, because the global economies are growing faster than we had forecast.” He hinted to a “revision for the better” of the GDP forecasts the EU is issuing in February. Asked about the estimates published by the Bank of Italy today, Rehn spoke of “credible data”. At the end of a meeting at the Institute of the Finnish culture in Rome, he said “the Commission will update its forecast in February. It seems that we can slightly raise our estimates for this year.” This “because the global economy is a bit faster than expected last fall. And we see a strengthening of the recovery in Europe,” he pointed out.

“Italy must place a strong emphasis on reforms to be made” to hook up the recovery, the EU Commissioner highlighted during the press conference. “There is no room for complacency,” he added then, acknowledging that Italy stopped its fall since the third quarter of 2013. On the other side, “unemployment remains high” all over Europe, hence it is not possible to “rest on the laurels.” It is necessary to “strengthen the economy” then. The Commissioner has also underlined the importance of facilitating the access to credit for SMEs, which are the backbone of Italian economy. At the end, he reminded the audience the efforts made by the government in liquidating the public administration’s debts to enterprises. When asked about the importance of political stability in pursuing the path of fiscal consolidation, Rehn declined to answer. “I will not meddle in domestic issues.”