BRUSSELS (MNI) – Italy’s new government intends to play an active
role in reshaping the Eurozone and will follow the marching orders set
down by its partner countries in the sphere of fiscal policy, Prime
Minister Mario Monti said Wednesday.
The “starting point” for policy will be the guidelines of EU heads
of state for the previous Rome government, Monti told journalists here
after a long discussion with European Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso about future political, social and institutional strategies for
Europe.
The very large majority of support the Italian Parliament has
accorded his government should allow it to deepen structural reforms, he
said, pledging to seek a broad consensus in a less conflictual climate
than in the past.
The new government will “put Europe at the center of its activity”
and “contribute as much as possible to robust and harmonious development
of the European Union,” Monti said, portraying his own role as a
“bridge” to Europe.
This means participating constructively in Europe’s future,
“starting with urgent interventions and a structural overhaul of the
Eurozone,” he said, adding that this should not lead divisions with
the larger European Union of 27 member states.
Himself a former member of the Commission, Monti said he shared its
vision of a Europe with solid institutional framework and said this
would be in Italy’s interest as well.
The new prime minister did not dwell on economic policy
initiatives, explaining that this would be the subject of discussions in
Rome with Monetary and Economic Commissioner Olli Rehn this Friday after
a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President
Nicolas Sarkozy in Strasbourg on Thursday.
Monti said he did not go into details with Barroso about Italy’s
deficit target for 2013 and whether this should take account of the
phase of the economic cycle.
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