Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she opposes having Italian lawmakers take up a revision of the euro area’s bailout fund, stoking a standoff that puts her country at odds with the European Union.
“It would be a mistake for the parliament to vote on this now,” Meloni told reporters on Saturday, criticizing a decision by lawmakers to start the process next week.
Meloni has repeatedly said that an agreement on new EU fiscal rules should take priority over a change to the European Stability Mechanism treaty that all other euro-area countries have ratified.
“I have not changed my mind,” she said at an event in Austria.
While the ESM debate has been politically toxic for years, the topic is becoming pressing for Meloni’s government after a Finance Ministry assessment found this week that the reform wouldn’t endanger Italy’s economy and dismissed criticism that tapping the revised fund would increase the risk of a restructuring Italy’s public debt.
Meloni also dismissed as “surreal” reports of tensions within her government coalition following the death of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who led junior coalition party Forza Italia.
Tensions within her coalition, which includes Meloni’s party Brothers of Italy and Matteo Salvini’s League, were exacerbated by an investigation of Tourism Minister Michela Santanchè, a Brothers member, for alleged false accounting.
Meloni has welcomed the minister’s agreement to answer questions from Parliament on the matter.
“Our government is working well,” Meloni said. “This government’s strength is reflected in the economy.”
