FILE PHOTO – European Affairs Minister Paolo Savona holds a press conference at the Foreign Press Club in Rome, Italy June 12, 2018 REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi
October 8, 2018
ROME (Reuters) – European Affairs Minister Paolo Savona said on Monday he was confident Italy would reach an agreement with the European Union over its expansionary multi-year budget plan.
“The market reaction has been very moderate, we expected a much worse reaction,” Savona said.
Savona said that although he expected a deal with the EU, if this did not happen it could spark a broad financial crisis which was “in nobody’s interests.”
“The behavior of the Commission is fundamental” in determining future market movements, he added.
The European Commission has already expressed concern over the country’s budget targets but earlier on Monday EU Economic Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said that a softer tone over the budget would improve talks.
(Reporting by Gavin Jones, writing by Giulia Segreti)
