"Italy is not under guardianship": stated the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Michel Barnier, at the end of a meeting, which lasted almost two hours, with the Prime Minister, Mario Monti. According to Barnier, "Italy has difficulty putting its public finances in order but it has good system fundamentals thanks also to its economic structure based on small and medium enterprises".
The European commissioner stressed that "Italy is not under guardianship" and yesterday's meeting between Monti and French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel demonstrates that "there is equality". Barnier also reported that Monti is "working" on the package of reforms that should relaunch growth and put the public finances in order, and "we haven't talked about it in detail. Monti's presence – he added – is not only important for Italy but also for Europe”.
As regards the question of the golden share, which Italy should modify within a month to comply with Community legislation, Barnier said that "we will treat Italy fairly like all other countries".
