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.
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