Second go-ahead from the House to the constitutional bill that rewrites article 81 of our Charter to insert it the obligation to balance the budget. Now that's all that remains the fourth and final reading by the Senate. In order for the provision to enter into force, an absolute majority of the members will be required, already obtained in Montecitorio, where a majority of two thirds was also achieved which allows to avoid a possible referendum: there were in fact 489 votes in favour, three against and 19 abstentions. If two-thirds is reached in Palazzo Madama as well, a confirmatory referendum cannot be requested, according to the provisions of the Constitution itself.
The new article 81 introduces, in relation to the state budget, the obligation to balance revenue and expenditure, taking into account the adverse and favorable phases of the economic cycle. There is a ban on resorting to debt except to take into account the cycle and the occurrence of exceptional events.
In the latter case, the authorization of the Chambers is required, to be adopted by an absolute majority of the respective members. The reform then refers to an ordinary implementation law the task of defining first of all what are the "exceptional events" that allow for the budget overrun, which include "major economic recessions, financial crises, major natural disasters". In the event of an overrun, however, there must also be a repayment plan.
The implementing law will also indicate what the maximum limit of the cumulative cyclical deviation from GDP will be, once this is exceeded it is necessary to intervene with corrective measures. Which means that if the deficit exceeds this limit, it will be mandatory for the government in charge to make a move, without stalling.
And in the implementing law there will be one more novelty, i.e the institution “at the Chambers, in compliance with the relative constitutional autonomy, of an independent body to which to assign tasks of analysis and verification of public finance trends and assessment of compliance with budgetary rules”. The new constitutional provisions will apply from the financial year 2014.
