The European Commission is expected to open a disciplinary procedure over Italy's spiralling debt, but offer six months for the country's government to address its most pressing economic shortfalls, rather than three, according to the minutes of an EU meeting. Italy’s debt grew to 132.2% of gross domestic product in 2018, more than twice the EU’s 60% ceiling, and is expected to rise even further, defying rules that say it should fall. In Brussels, Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the commission, said that Italy had failed to meet three conditions set by Brussels in order to receive financial support from Brussels. Economic commissioner Pierre Moscovici said the decision to give Italy until next January aimed to prevent the EU's position from being "exploited for political ends in certain quarters in Italy".
The European Commission is expected to open a disciplinary procedure over Italy's spiralling debt, but offer six months for the country's government to address its most pressing economic shortfalls, rather than three, according to the minutes of an EU meeting. In Brussels, Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the commission, said that Italy had failed to meet three conditions set by Brussels in order to receive financial support from Brussels. Economic commissioner Pierre Moscovici said the decision to give Italy until next January aimed to prevent the EU's position from being "exploited for political ends in certain quarters in Italy".