Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Berlusconi pledges to resign as EU inspectors land in Rome

  • Berlusconi (l) says he wants new elections (Photo: The Council of the European Union)

Following a humiliating rout in parliament on Tuesday (8 November), Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said he will resign immediately after a package of austerity measures is approved - a development expected in the coming weeks.

"We're in a difficult situation with regard to the financial markets. Europe has requested we implement [austerity] measures, and it has done so with great insistence. Parliament has shown that we no longer have a majority. I have therefore asked the head of state, [President Giorgio Napolitano], to convince the opposition to vote in favour of the measures, after which I will hand in my resignation,” Berlusconi said on Tuesday evening on one of his TV channels.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

It is up to the president to now begin a round of consultations and to decide on the way forward. Possible scenarios include the formation of an emergency government of national unity that would enjoy a large majority in parliament, a new centre-right coalition or snap elections.

The opposition has in the past pleaded for a government of national unity headed by a figure of standing. One name circulating in Rome is that of former European commissioner Mario Monti.

Berlusconi has said he wants elections. "This parliament today is paralysed," he said.

Markets have welcomed his pledge to soon go.

Italian bond rates earlier this week had hit a record of 6.7 percent, nearing the 7 percent threshold which triggered EU-led bail-outs in Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

The euro strengthened against the dollar and Wall Street closed in the black after the Italian leader spoke out, however. Asian markets early on Wednesday also rose more than one percent.

Italy, the eurozone's third biggest economy, has struggled to convince investors it can repay its €1.9 trillion debt.

European leaders last month demanded that Berlusconi give them a detailed set of new austerity measures, with implementation to be monitored by the European Commission – a first for a country that is not formally signed up to a bail-out programme.

The first batch of commission officials arrived in Rome on Tuesday to make "a detailed assessment." EU economic affairs commissioner Olli Rehn the same day noted that the situation in Italy is "very worrying."

For his part, the Italian ambassador to the European Union, Ferdinando Nelli Feroci, downplayed the nature of the mission, describing it in remarks to the Dow Jones newswire as a "dialogue, not an inspection."

Finnish PM: Russia preparing for 'long conflict with West'

Finland, which shares a border with Russia, has cautioned about the danger of a Russian attack in coming years. Russia is not "invincible" but "self-satisfaction is no longer an option," Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo said.

EU Commission proposes opening Bosnia accession talks

Eight years on, the EU Commission is to recommend on Tuesday that member states open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina after the country took "impressive steps" to meet the bloc's standards, Ursula von der Leyen said.

Opinion

How the EU can raise its game in the Middle East

Could the EU repair its reputation and credibility by taking action on Gaza? EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have worked hard to repair the damage, but have faced political headwinds due to internal divisions.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us