Italy’s budget makes mockery of eurozone pact on fiscal policy

Report of a meeting of the Eurogroup finance ministers on 9 July 2001, where budget developments in the euro-zone countries were discussed. No consense was found whether to apply cyclically adjusted rather than nominal budget figures to the deficit ceiling. Italy's Minister of Finance warned on 11 July 2001 that his country's budgetary deficit could be much higher than the target figure of the stability pact.