Italy to delay key vote on eurozone rescue fund
PM Giorgia Meloni's government asked Italian lawmakers on Friday to postpone a highly contentious vote on the eurozone's bailout fund by four months.
Italy is the only country that has not yet ratified a 2021 reform of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which strengthened the fund's financial firepower and increased its authority to supervise countries in difficulty.
Meloni's right-wing coalition government is torn between deep suspicion of the ESM and pressure from EU allies to greenlight an accord that cannot be implemented without approval of all national parliaments.
During a debate in the Chamber of Deputies on Friday, an MP for Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party asked for the ratification vote to be postponed for four months.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Why Italy's Meloni is in a pickle over the EU's bailout fund
That would allow time for a clearer picture of ongoing discussions about eurozone debt and the banking union to emerge, MP Andrea Di Giuseppe said.
The EU is currently debating reform to its fiscal rules, known as the Stability and Growth Pact, which set limits on member states' budget deficits and debt.
Meloni has previously stated that she would never use the ESM, which provides eurozone states in difficulty with loans at below-market rates in return for reforms to public finances.
Spain, Portugal, Greece, Ireland and Cyprus have all used it but many in Italy consider it a tool for northern European countries to impose austerity on the south.
Italy is also wary of being forced to restructure its enormous debt, valued at 144 percent of GDP, the highest ratio in the eurozone after Greece.
Friday's parliamentary debate followed the presentation of a bill on ratification by the centre-left opposition.
"Not ratifying the ESM would undermine the credibility of our country," said Naike Gruppioni, a lawmaker with the centrist Azione-Italia Viva group.
The request for the four-month delay in the vote will be examined next week, said Lorenzo Fontana, president of the Chamber of Deputies.
It is expected to be approved, as Meloni's coalition – which includes Matteo Salvini's League party and the late Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing Forza Italia – has a comfortable majority in parliament.
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Italy is the only country that has not yet ratified a 2021 reform of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which strengthened the fund's financial firepower and increased its authority to supervise countries in difficulty.
Meloni's right-wing coalition government is torn between deep suspicion of the ESM and pressure from EU allies to greenlight an accord that cannot be implemented without approval of all national parliaments.
During a debate in the Chamber of Deputies on Friday, an MP for Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party asked for the ratification vote to be postponed for four months.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Why Italy's Meloni is in a pickle over the EU's bailout fund
That would allow time for a clearer picture of ongoing discussions about eurozone debt and the banking union to emerge, MP Andrea Di Giuseppe said.
The EU is currently debating reform to its fiscal rules, known as the Stability and Growth Pact, which set limits on member states' budget deficits and debt.
Meloni has previously stated that she would never use the ESM, which provides eurozone states in difficulty with loans at below-market rates in return for reforms to public finances.
Spain, Portugal, Greece, Ireland and Cyprus have all used it but many in Italy consider it a tool for northern European countries to impose austerity on the south.
Italy is also wary of being forced to restructure its enormous debt, valued at 144 percent of GDP, the highest ratio in the eurozone after Greece.
Friday's parliamentary debate followed the presentation of a bill on ratification by the centre-left opposition.
"Not ratifying the ESM would undermine the credibility of our country," said Naike Gruppioni, a lawmaker with the centrist Azione-Italia Viva group.
The request for the four-month delay in the vote will be examined next week, said Lorenzo Fontana, president of the Chamber of Deputies.
It is expected to be approved, as Meloni's coalition – which includes Matteo Salvini's League party and the late Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing Forza Italia – has a comfortable majority in parliament.
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