Herman Van Rompuy blij met snel bezoek nieuwe Italiaanse premier Letta (en)

EUROPEAN COUNCIL THE PRESIDT

Brussels, 1 May 2013 EUCO PRESSE 173 PR PCE 89

Statement by the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy i, following his meeting with the Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta i

I was delighted to meet today the Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, in his first visit to Brussels in his new capacity

I reiterated my congratulations to him for the formation of the government, which is a necessary step to ensure political stability in Italy. I also expressed my appreciation for his timely visit to Brussels, which takes place shortly after the confidence vote of the Italian Parliament. This is a clear sign of the Prime Minister's and his government's commitment to continue to work in close cooperation with the European Union

The European economic and political agenda were at the centre of our constructive discussions

The Prime Minister informed me of the main elements of the programme of his government, in particular the measures he intends to introduce to relaunch the economic growth, to make Italy more competitive and to tackle the difficult social and employment situation. 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

Looking at the upcoming European calendar, I outlined the agenda of the May and June European Councils, including the important discussions that lie ahead on energy and taxation, and the on-going work on the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) roadmap, in particular on the Banking Union. I thanked the Prime Minister for his profound pro-European agenda and his firm commitment to work closely together with the European Institutions and the members of the European Council to promote rapid and concrete progress on the completion of the EMU

We agreed to remain in close contact and I accepted his invitation to visit Italy at the earliest convenience

EUCO