cerca CERCA
Venerdì 29 Marzo 2024
Aggiornato: 11:49
10 ultim'ora BREAKING NEWS

EU's Juncker plays down row with Italy

20 gennaio 2016 | 15.04
LETTURA: 1 minuti

EU's Juncker plays down row with Italy

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday claimed all was well between the EU executive and Rome amid an escalating row over immigration and deficit spending.

"There is no problem between the European Commission and the Italian government," Juncker told journalists in Strasbourg.

"We sometimes hear somewhat chauvinist speeches but we have good working relations," he said.

"We have had heated debates, but that is normal and is part of democracy," Juncker added.

European parliament president Martin Schultz also denied there were issues with Rome. "I don't think Italy is a problem for Europe," he said.

"There's no doubt that we need to listen to each other carefully, but we are in close contact with the Italian prime minister," Schultz added.

Italy's premier Matteo Renzi last week defiantly rejected calls by Juncker to tone down his criticism of EU policies on migration, banking and the budget.

Renzi said in remarks on Friday and Saturday that Italy "would not be intimidated by sound-bites", that it "deserves respect" and "will not be remote controlled by Brussels".

Juncker lashed out at Renzi after Italy blocked an EU plan to set up a 3-billion-euro fund to help Turkey stem the biggest inflow in decades of asylum seekers into Europe, saying the money should come from the EU budget, not national ones.

Renzi has also irritated the European Commission by remarks that Brussels officials are mere technocrats and complaints that economic powerhouse Germany wields overweening influence in the bloc.

Riproduzione riservata
© Copyright Adnkronos
Tag
Vedi anche


SEGUICI SUI SOCIAL



threads whatsapp linkedin twitter youtube facebook instagram
ora in
Prima pagina
articoli
in Evidenza