In quiet week for economic releases, the budgetary dispute between Brussels and Rome continues. Giuseppe Conte, the Italian Prime Minister, said yesterday that he is ‘determined’ to avoid triggering the EU ‘disciplinary’ procedure for what it considers to be Italy’s excessive levels of debt. Speaking to business leaders in Rome, Conte said, ‘The negotiation with the European Commission and with our European Union partners will see the government absolutely determined to avoid, in the coming months, a procedure for excessive debt.’
Currently, Italy’s debt ratio of 132% of its GDP puts it at the highest in the eurozone apart from Greece.
Meanwhile, as the Conservative Party leadership race heats up, Jean-Claude Juncker has reiterated in Brussels that ‘there will be no renegotiation’ of the Withdrawal Agreement. ‘This is not a treaty between Theresa May and Juncker, this is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
