“We have recently exited the infringement procedure thanks to the fact that we have fallen below 3% and this gives us more usability on the deficit. But we can't afford to go back above 3%. It would be a mistake” says the Minister of Economy, Pier Carlo Padoan, in an interview with Il Sole 24 Ore, replying to a question on the possibility that Italy asks for more flexibility in the EU ceiling of 3% on the deficit/GDP seen that in 2015 the structural deficit will rise again.
“If we know how to grow through structural reforms – he explains – we will automatically gain more space in the public accounts”. According to Padoan, "the problem of growth is felt on a continental level exactly as it is in Italy".
