Meloni says more attention to ESM in Italy than in EU

(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 30 - Premier Giorgia Meloni said Friday she had not been asked about ratification by Italy of the reform treaty of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) bailout fund during the European Council in Brussels.
    "Perhaps there is not the same attention (to the issue here) that there is in the Italian debate," Meloni told reporters after the summit.
    Her comments came after the government majority asked for the ratification bill currently before the chamber to be postponed for four months.
    Italy has been holding out on ratification of the ESM reform treaty amid concerns over the impact of the eurozone bailout mechanism on budgetary sovereignty and assertions that the fund should also be used to promote growth, despite pressure from Brussels.
    It is the only country not to have done so.
    The opposition centre-left Democratic Party (Pd) and the centrist 'Third Pole' have said the government's refusal to ratify the treaty is damaging Italy's credibility. (ANSA).