ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER Silvio Berlusconi will address both houses of the Italian parliament today with crisis talks also taking place between his finance minister and the Eurozone chief as fears over Italian debt worsen.
BBC News reports that Berlusconi will address the chamber of deputies and the senate this afternoon having been “uncharacteristically silent” in recent days despite fears growing that Italy could be next for an international bailout.
Predictably opposition leaders are warning that Italy risks bankruptcy unless strong action is taken but Berlusconi is unlikely to cede to calls for his resignation or agree to fresh elections.
Guilio Tremonto, the finance minister, is set to meet with Eurozone chief Jean-Claude Juncker in Luxembourg today, according to RTÉ.
Tremonti has been smeared by corruption allegations which he denies. Were he to resign, it could further worsen Italy’s credibility crisis, BBC News adds.
Yesterday, the yield for Italy’s 10-year bond jumped to 6.18 per cent, above where it was before 21 July, when the EU announced its latest debt crisis plan, including a second Greek bailout, to calm and contain market jitters.
Italy’s problems are exacerbated by its high level of national debt which is running at around 120 per cent of GDP and with growth at low levels it is feared it could be the next country which requires international assistance.
Elsewhere, there are also concerns over Spain where the yield on a 10-year bond rose as far as 6.45 per cent, the highest since the euro was created and near levels seen in Greece, Ireland and Portugal before they were forced to ask for rescue loans.
Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero delayed his vacation by a day to monitor the increasingly bleak scenario with his finance minister, Elena Salgado who told her prime minister ”that the experts agree that the current situation is due to the financial crisis plaguing the euro area worsened by the uncertainty of the economic situation in the United States.”
- additional reporting from AP
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