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Italy must move further than just announcing austerity measures it has promised to its European partners and begin to implement them, eurozone chief Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday.
“Italy has not only to announce but to implement measures” in order to restore confidence, Juncker said following a meeting with Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho.
“Italy has to prove that we are right to put all our confidence” in it, he said.
“Things have changed since yesterday night and we need to wait for the next government,” he said. “The next government has to take on board all the commitments that have been described in the letter Mr. Berlusconi sent the European council.”
Last week Berlusconi presented an urgently put together reform package aimed at reining in Italy’s runaway debt to EU leaders attending a G20 meeting.
Among the measures he outlined was selling state assets, tax incentives for recruiting workers, measures to boost market competition and the unblocking of billions in aid for southern Italy.