European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said Italy was “an element of uncertainty” as he presented the eurozone situation in an ECOFIN meeting on March 13. This is according to outgoing Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan.
“Over the last two days I’ve met [European Commissioners Valdis] Dombrovskis, [Pierre] Moscovici and [Eurogroup President Mario] Centeno to inform them of the work that we are doing in Italy on writing a document with the long-term macroeconomic outlook and the fact that, implicitly, while there is no new government, the Commission will have to wait for the planning document,” Padoan was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ANSA.
“It is the new government’s job to draft it,” he added. “The Commission showed itself to be open and patient in waiting for the next step.”
The two parties to make the biggest gains in this month’s inconclusive general election, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the rightwing, anti-migrant League, have both expressed Euroskeptic positions.
According to Padoan, the European Commission was ready to wait for Italy to have a new government before demanding a blueprint from Rome outlining its economic policy plans.
