The European Commission said
in its interim winter forecasts on Wednesday that it expects the
Italian economy to grow 1.5% this year, up from the 1.3% it
predicted in November.
The Commission added, however, that Italy's growth prospects
are "moderate".
"Although Italy's recovery is set to become more
self-sustained, its growth prospects remain moderate, given the
Italian economy's limited growth potential," the report said.
"Domestic downside risks largely relate to the still fragile
state of the Italian banking sector, while there is an upside
risk that the recovery could strengthen more than envisaged, at
least in the near term".
The Commission said its forecasts were based on "the
no-policy-change assumption that Italy continues to implement
already adopted growth-friendly reforms and pursues prudent
fiscal policies".
The Italian Treasury said the EU Commission had "renewed its
confidence in the state of health" of the Italian economy and
stressed that the new growth forecast was the same as that
envisaged by an update of the Economic and Financial Document
(DEF) in September.
Italy will hold a general election on March 4.
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