ROME, Oct. 19 -- Italy suffered another rocky day on the financial markets Friday, as European Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici wound up the second day of a two-day visit to Rome during which he delivered a letter from the European Commission to Finance Minister Giovanni Tria asking him for clarification on Italy's draft budget.
According to the version published by the Ministry of Finance earlier this week, Italy's draft budget introduces a basic income for the poor of 780 euros a month, a "citizens' pension" of 780 euros a month, to be paid for mostly by deficit spending equal to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). It also introduces a 15 percent flat tax for small businesses.
The deficit spending plan set Italy on a collision course with the European Union (EU) and sparked claims from the leftist opposition that the real intention of the new rightwing-populist government is to drive the Mediterranean country out of the eurozone.
This was reinforced when news broke late in the day that Moody's ratings agency had downgraded Italy's credit to Baa3 from Baa2, citing "significantly higher budget deficits planned for the coming three years compared to earlier expectations" and an increased possibility of an Italexit "should tensions between the Italian government and European authorities continue to escalate," the Financial Times newspaper and Italian news agency ANSA reported.
"No Europe without Italy, no Italy without Europe," Moscovici tweeted on Friday after meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi.
【国际英语资讯:Italy suffers rocky day on financial markets as EU asks for budget clarification】相关文章:
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