BRUSSELS, Oct 26, (APP/AFP) – The European Commission on Tuesday demanded “clarifications” from seven eurozone countries over their draft budgets, expressing particular concern that Italy, Cyprus and Finland are not meeting EU targets. Belgium, Portugal, Spain and Lithuania, whose budgets were flagged for different reasons, have also been sent letters by the EU executive seeking explanations. The countries’ responses are due by Thursday. “For Italy, Cyprus and Finland, we have a real problem,” a European source said, adding that the three countries could potentially see their budgets rejected by Brussels. Italy, the eurozone’s third biggest economy, is notably forecasting a budget deficit of 2.3 percent of GDP in 2017 — significantly higher than that expected by Brussels — due to a deadly earthquake in August as well as the costs of dealing with a huge influx of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa.
International News
EU questions budgets of seven eurozone countries
