Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has renewed his call for the European Union to ease fiscal constraints, arguing that current budget rules limit governments’ ability to respond to rising energy costs and inflationary pressures.
The remarks were made during a public intervention in Italy on April 25, as reported the same day by Italian news agency ANSA.
Salvini urged Brussels to take a more flexible approach to fiscal governance, saying: “Brussels must wake up,” and reconsider what he described as overly rigid European budget rules.
In his view, these constraints make it harder for member states to intervene effectively in support of households and businesses facing persistent price pressures.
Italy, ass with other eurozone countries, operates within the framework of EU fiscal rules designed to ensure budgetary discipline. These include limits on public deficits and debt trajectories under the Stability and Growth Pact, as well as structured oversight through the European Semester process. That allows the European Commission to assess national budgets and issue recommendations.
In cases of significant deviation, the EU can open an Excessive Deficit Procedure, increasing pressure on governments to correct fiscal imbalances. Additional constraints also apply through EU state aid rules, which regulate how governments can support companies, including in sectors affected by high energy costs.
Against this backdrop, Salvini argued that such mechanisms risk reducing the room for manoeuvre needed to address immediate economic challenges. “The problem is not a lack of fuel but the cost of diesel, gas, electricity and everyday goods,” he said, according to agency summaries of his intervention.
He also warned of potential knock-on effects for the real economy if action is delayed, suggesting: “In May thousands of trucks could stop and shops could be left empty,” a reference to pressures in the logistics and retail sectors linked to rising operating costs.
Reiterating a long-standing position within his party, Salvini also stressed the need for greater national fiscal autonomy, stating: “We do not need more EU monitoring; we need to use Italian money to help Italian citizens in difficulty.”
The intervention comes amid ongoing debate within the EU over how to balance fiscal discipline with flexibility, particularly in the context of high energy prices and inflationary pressures that have affected most member states since the post-pandemic and geopolitical shocks of recent years.
