La European Commission he has no intention of giving up on Italy's public finances and not to start the infringement procedure he is asking our country for a net correction of 7 billion euros. For now, it sure is just one billion and that is what the Government will take by the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, which just yesterday convened an extraordinary meeting for June 28 to decide on the distribution of a extra dividend of 960 million, which will end above all in Treasury coffers (about 800 million) and to a lesser extent (152 million) in those of the banking foundations, which are minority shareholders of the CDP. It is the first time that the Treasury has activated this emergency procedure against the CDP, which in recent weeks had already disconnected a check for 1,3 billion to the Treasury deriving from the ordinary dividend. Fortunately, the Treasury's extraordinary withdrawal from CDP reserves will not affect even one euro in the postal savings that Cassa Depositi e Prestiti manages with great attention to what is one of the country's main resources.
But, beyond the "theft" at the Cassa, for the Government another six billion remain to be found because, in yesterday's European summit, the Commission stated clearly that the 2 billion savings with which the premier Giuseppe Conte had presented himself have already been accounted for. Moral: if the Council of Ministers approves the budget adjustment, the Government will be able to put it on the plate another 3 billion in future savings deriving from lower expenses for Quota 100 pensions and for the Citizenship Income. But Conte will have to be able to convince both the Northern League leader, Matteo Salvini, and that of the Five Stars, Luigi Di Maio, who have so far shown that they do not want to give up on the symbolic measures of their government.
But also at best – balance sheet adjustment + extra dividend of the CDP – we arrive at 4 against the 7 billion demanded by the European Commission, who took note of the letter sent in Italian (!) by Conte and pointed out that he had lowered the initial estimates from 9 to 7 billion of excessive debt precisely because he accounted for the 2 billion hoard presented by the Italian premier. “It's going to be really tough“, the Prime Minister commented with obvious concern, but the game is in the hands of Salvini and Di Maio. Either they allow Conte and Tria to make the necessary cuts to satisfy the requests of the EU or the infringement procedure against Italy for excessive public debt with a fine. But what is really alarming is not so much the sanction that can hit Italy as much as it is the storm on the markets which risks hitting Italy if the conflict with Europe is not resolved and the Government gives the impression of wanting to pull the rope to the impossible, approaching dangerously the risk of leaving the euro.
