Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Wednesday that her government is not yet ready to ratify a reform for the euro zone’s 500 billion euro ($526.15 billion) bailout fund as “further reflection” is required. Italy is the only European Union member who has expressed this hesitance with regard to ratifying the reform.
Meloni reemphasized her opposition to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), explaining to her parliament that Italy would not access this facility. She went on to suggest that it be turned into an industrial policy tool.
“If we believe the new ESM regulation is not in the national interest of the country … it should be the time to discuss using it as an instrument of European industrial policy,” the Prime Minister explained, thus echoing the sentiment of industry lobby Confindustria.
Prime Minister Meloni is part of the camp that is critical of the reform, explaining that it would increase the risk of a restructuring of Rome’s mounting national debt. She then pledged that the ESM would not come into effect while she remains prime minister of Italy.