Behind the Brussels-Rome Dispute
How can the EU reject a budget well within the Maastricht Treaty’s limits?
The budget showdown between Rome and Brussels has transfixed European media and investors for weeks. The new Italian government, formed from insurgent political parties, proposed a deficit equal to 2.4% of gross domestic product next year. On Tuesday the European Commission said that’s too high and gave Italy three weeks to submit a new budget. Yet a 2.4% deficit is still well under the 3% ceiling set by the Maastricht Treaty. Why is Brussels imposing a much tighter limit on Rome?
The answer is that European Union bureaucrats...