Select date
Italy’s Flight From Eurozone Would Be Liberation, Not Punishment – Eurexit Chief
from Sputnik News:
The European Commission launched an attack on Italy’s government this week, expressing its “serious concern” over Rome’s spending plans and claiming they violate EU fiscal rules. Speaking to Sputnik, lawyer and Eurexit Association president Francesca Donato explained why the latent conflict between Rome and Brussels is likely to escalate.
Italian economy minister Giovanni Tria confirmed Thursday that Rome would start bringing its budget deficit down from 2.4 percent after 2020, backing down on plans to run deficits for three years in a row in an effort to fulfill election promises of a ‘citizens income’ plan, tax cuts and pension reform.
Tria’s statement followed harsh criticism by EU economy commissioner Pierre Moscovici, who accused Italians of having “chosen a resolutely Eurosceptic and xenophobic government that, on migration and budget questions, is trying to escape European obligations.”
The comments are part of a growing back and forth battle between Brussels and Rome on Italy’s right to pursue an independent social and economic policy, with Interior and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini recently accusing EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker of trying to “bring Italy to its knees to buy up the healthy companies that remain.”
Speaking to Sputnik Italia about this political jostling, Francesca Donato, an Italian lawyer and president of Eurexit — an organization campaigning for Italy to abandon the euro zone, explained what it is about Rome’s plans that triggers such a harsh reaction from Brussels.
Euro Exit
Last month, Italian Parliamentary Budget Committee chief Claudio Borghi told Sputnik Italia that the euro “doesn’t work,” and that he hopes the currency “falls apart,” sparking controversy in Rome and a slide in the currency’s value.
Commenting on the prospects of Italy abandoning the euro and restoring its own currency, Donato argued that the fact that the currency could slide as it has based on the statement of a single politician was an indication of a “very shaky foundation.”
“There is nothing in the current government program about abandoning the euro, because the Lega did not win the elections alone. The Five Star Movement was in favor of preserving the euro. But the choice which will ultimately lead us to clash with the EU will be very simple: either we will bend to Brussels’ dictate, like [Greek Prime Minister Alexis] Tsipras, and condemn our country to stagnation or economic recession, or defend our interests,” Donato said.
“If the EU decides to exclude Italy from the Euro zone, this will be a liberation for us, and certainly not a punishment. This, as I have long believed, is the only way to free our hands to conduct our own economic policy and not be bound by the interests of others,” the activist emphasized.
Loading...
