https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he was "confident" Rome could avoid unprecedented EU sanctions over its big-spending budget, rejected by Brussels, following talks with European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker. https://www.thelocal.it/20181125/italy-pm-confident-rome-can-avoid-eu-sanctions-over-budget Sun, 25 Nov 2018 10:01:32 +0100 italy-pm-confident-rome-can-avoid-eu-sanctions-over-budget The EU on Thursday said growth in the eurozone would slow in 2019 and beyond, citing global uncertainty and heightened trade tensions. https://www.thelocal.it/20181108/eu-predicts-italys-deficit-will-soar-next-year Thu, 08 Nov 2018 12:50:57 +0100 eu-predicts-italys-deficit-will-soar-next-year Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Saturday dismissed ratings agency Moody's decision to downgrade Italy's credit standing because of the government's controversial budget plans and said the country's outlook was "stable." https://www.thelocal.it/20181020/salvini-dismisses-italys-ratings-downgrade-says-outlook-stable Sat, 20 Oct 2018 17:20:02 +0200 salvini-dismisses-italys-ratings-downgrade-says-outlook-stable Moody's cut Italy's credit rating by a notch on Friday over concerns about government plans for larger deficits and the high public debt load. https://www.thelocal.it/20181020/moodys-downgrades-italy-credit-rating-on-debt-and-deficit-concerns Sat, 20 Oct 2018 03:26:06 +0200 moodys-downgrades-italy-credit-rating-on-debt-and-deficit-concerns Italy's populist government agreed on Thursday on a deficit of 2.4 percent of gross domestic product for the next three years, in a move which risks setting Rome on a collision course with the European Commission. https://www.thelocal.it/20180928/italy-budget-of-change Fri, 28 Sep 2018 10:05:44 +0200 italy-budget-of-change Italy on Wednesday cut its forecasts for both economic growth and its public finances this year and next year, potentially lining it up for a clash with Brussels. https://www.thelocal.it/20180808/italy-cuts-growth-deficit-forecast Wed, 08 Aug 2018 18:29:00 +0200 italy-cuts-growth-deficit-forecast The European Commission is too lenient in applying its own budget rules to overspending member states such as France and Italy, the EU's official auditor said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20160419/eu-too-lenient-on-overspending-italy Tue, 19 Apr 2016 18:25:03 +0200 eu-too-lenient-on-overspending-italy The European Commission on Thursday issued revised growth rate predictions for Italy, lowering expectations for 2016 GDP growth to 1.4 percent – down from the 1.5 percent predicted in November. https://www.thelocal.it/20160204/european-commission-lowers-figures-for-italian-growth Thu, 04 Feb 2016 17:00:58 +0100 european-commission-lowers-figures-for-italian-growth The Italian parliament adopted the government's 2015 budget late on Monday, after the European Union forced Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to redraft the text to rein in the country's deficit. https://www.thelocal.it/20141223/italian-parliament-adopts-budget-after-eu-battle Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:02:00 +0100 italian-parliament-adopts-budget-after-eu-battle Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi rebutted a report on Wednesday that Italy’s budget is set to be “humiliatingly sanctioned” by Brussels. https://www.thelocal.it/20141023/renzi-denies-italy-flunked-budget Thu, 23 Oct 2014 10:26:00 +0200 renzi-denies-italy-flunked-budget Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Thursday that Germany should not treat other countries like school children after French President Francois Hollande said he would defy European Union budget rules next year. https://www.thelocal.it/20141003/do-not-treat-us-like-school-kids-renzi-tells-germany Fri, 03 Oct 2014 12:22:00 +0200 do-not-treat-us-like-school-kids-renzi-tells-germany The Italian government's debt-to-GDP ratio hit 132.6 percent in 2013, the second-highest in the EU after Greece, figures released on Wednesday showed. https://www.thelocal.it/20140423/only-greece-tops-italy-for-debt-eu Wed, 23 Apr 2014 17:13:00 +0200 only-greece-tops-italy-for-debt-eu Rome could be unable to cope with the millions of people due to attend the Vatican's double canonization later this month unless it receives a vital government cash injection, according to Italian media reports. https://www.thelocal.it/20140410/broke-rome-risks-crisis-over-popes-sainthoods Thu, 10 Apr 2014 13:45:00 +0200 broke-rome-risks-crisis-over-popes-sainthoods Italy's public deficit inched down to 2.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2013 - 0.1 of a point lower than in 2012 and staying below the EU threshold of 3.0 percent, official data showed on Monday. https://www.thelocal.it/20140407/relief-as-italy-keeps-eu-budget-promise-2 Mon, 07 Apr 2014 13:24:00 +0200 relief-as-italy-keeps-eu-budget-promise-2 Italy's economy shrank by 1.9 percent in 2013, hitting a new record of 132.6 percent of GDP but staying within the European Union's limit in mixed news for the country's new government, official figures showed on Monday. https://www.thelocal.it/20140303/italys-public-debt-hits-record-1326-percent Mon, 03 Mar 2014 12:17:30 +0100 italys-public-debt-hits-record-1326-percent Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi came under pressure on Thursday as the city of Rome verged towards bankruptcy after parliament threw out a bill that would have injected fresh funding. https://www.thelocal.it/20140228/political-stalemate-threatens-rome-with-bankruptcy Fri, 28 Feb 2014 08:49:00 +0100 political-stalemate-threatens-rome-with-bankruptcy Italy's public deficit rose to 3.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over the first nine months of last year, the official data agency said, raising the risk that it could breach the EU threshold. https://www.thelocal.it/20140110/italys-public-budget-deficit-widens Fri, 10 Jan 2014 09:49:00 +0100 italys-public-budget-deficit-widens Italy, struggling to straighten out its finances, cut overspending to 1.0 percent of output in the second quarter, down from 2.2 percent in the same period last year, official data showed on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20131008/boost-for-italy-as-deficit-falls Tue, 08 Oct 2013 18:49:00 +0200 boost-for-italy-as-deficit-falls Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on Friday that Italy is committed to keeping its public deficit below the EU ceiling of 3.0 percent of GDP, despite a revised budget that forecasts it will rise to 3.1 percent. https://www.thelocal.it/20130920/italy-is-in-control-of-its-finances-pm Fri, 20 Sep 2013 16:28:30 +0200 italy-is-in-control-of-its-finances-pm The European Commission said on Wednesday it was ready to accept an Italian request to modify the way public deficits are calculated, which would give Rome more leeway in spending while still respecting EU demands to keep the deficit below 3.0 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). https://www.thelocal.it/20130703/italy-to-have-more-leeway-on-public-spending Wed, 03 Jul 2013 18:27:00 +0200 italy-to-have-more-leeway-on-public-spending