EU assures debt-laden Italy of 'flexibility'
Letta - Van Rompuy - Photo EU Council
(BRUSSELS) - European Council chief Herman Van Rompuy said Wednesday he had assured visiting Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta that the European Union will remain "flexible" while debt-laden Rome pursues the goal of sound public finances.
"I reiterated that the EU will continue to stand by Italy in pursuing our common commitment to overcome the economic crisis and promoting growth and jobs, in making full use of the existing flexibility while keeping sound public finance as a key objective," Van Rompuy said after meeting with the new Italian leader.
Letta, sworn in as Italy's new prime minister on Sunday after a two-month political impasse, on Monday announced a series of measures to spur growth, including the suspension of a controversial housing tax imposed by his technocrat predecessor Mario Monti.
Letta has promised to respect commitments made to the European Union, but said he hoped to persuade his European partners to allow him a "margin for manoeuvre" in reining in Italy's massive debt.
The centre-left Italian leader is to meet Thursday with European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.
His meeting with Van Rompuy capped a day in which he also met French President Francois Hollande in Paris and his Belgian counterpart Elio Di Rupo in Brussels.
Van Rompuy said Letta's visit to Brussels so soon after his swearing-in was a "clear sign (of) his government's commitment to continue to work in close cooperation with the European Union."