Italy Econ Min-Agreement On New Budget Rules Next Week Unlikely

Wires reporting that Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has stated that it is 'unlikely' that an EU accord on new budget rules will be reached next week. Giorgetti adds that the prospect of an agreement diminished following the German Constitutional Court's ruling regarding off-budget funds in November that blew a hole in the country's federal budget, forcing the governing coalition in Berlin into politically difficult negotiations of how to plug the gap in funding

• The minister's comments chime with our Policy team's article from 14 Dec highlighting that "A last-ditch attempt to overhaul the European Union’s fiscal rules in time for parliamentary approval during the first half of next year looks to have an uncertain chance of success," (see 'MNI: France, Germany Far Apart Ahead Of Fiscal Rules Talks', 14 Dec).
• EU economy and finance ministers will meet virtually in an extraordinary ECOFIN meeting on 20 December after marathon negotiations during the 7-8 Dec meeting in Brussels failed to reach an agreement on new fiscal rules.