Italian PM wants to transform ‘outdated’ eurozone bailout fund

Italy is therefore the only country in the European Union that has not ratified this Convention, which cannot be implemented without the approval of all national parliaments.

Asked at a press conference how a hard-right government would respond, Meloni said the ESM was an “outdated” tool as it had never been ratified by a majority in Italy’s parliament.

“Maybe Italy’s failure to ratify the treaty could be an opportunity to make it more effective than it is now,” he told reporters.

“In my opinion, this is the direction the government should be working in.”

Meloni’s government was divided over the December 21 ratification motion tabled by the centre-left opposition party.

His post-fascist Italian Brothers party voted against it, as did his deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini’s far-right alliance.

However, the third party in the ruling coalition, the right-wing Forza Italia, led by the late Silvio Berlusconi, abstained.

Founded in 2012 at the height of the eurozone debt crisis, the ESM borrows from financial markets to provide below-market loans to struggling eurozone countries. In return, fiscal reforms must be implemented.

Spain, Portugal, Greece, Ireland and Cyprus all use the system, but Italy remains deeply suspicious and many see it as a tool for the Nordic countries to impose austerity on the south. There is.

There are also concerns that Italy will be forced to restructure its huge debts if it uses the ESM.

Meloni said in December 2022 that Italy would “sign with blood” not to join the ESM.

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