Italy's Stability Programme (PS)

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The Stability Programme (Programma di Stabilità - PS) is a planning document drawn up for the European Union. The PS was established by EU Council Regulation No. 1466/1997, subsequently amended in June 2005 by Regulations No. 1055/05 and No. 1056/05. The PS enables the European Council and European Commission to engage in multilateral surveillance of excessive public deficits and to promote coordination of Member States' economic policies.

Based on the planning documents already submitted during the year (DPEF and RPP), the PS describes the macroeconomic framework and public finance targets set for the following years, the fiscal strategy to meet them, as well as the debt reduction consistent with the fiscal consolidation process.

The Programme includes a public finance sensitivity analysis to changes in the macroeconomic framework, as well as a public finance long- term sustainability analysis.

Once it is submitted to the EU Commission by 1 December, the PS is then discussed and approved by the ECOFIN by the following February. Art. 4, p. 3-bis, of Law No. 468 of 5 August 1978 envisages that the Government shall submit to Parliament a Note, with additional information explaining the new macroeconomic and public finance forecasts in case of deviations from the targets set in the DPEF. These provisions have been repealed by Art. 52 of the public finance and accounting law (Law No. 196 of 31 December 2009).

Under Art. 7, p. 2, g), of the recent public finance and accounting law (Law No. 196 of 31 December 2009), the Government submits the Update to the PS to the European Council and the European Commission according to the timetable set at European level. The Update to the PS is a planning document which is submitted to Parliament by the Government.

With the new budget cycle, due to start in September 2010 with the submittal of the DFP, the Government will send to Parliament and the Standing Conference on Public Finance an outline of the Update to the SP at least 15 days before the deadline set for the submittal of the Update to the SP to the European Institutions. This outline provides information on the medium-term perspectives of Italy’s economic policy in the European Union, including the guidelines for their implementation at a national level.

Italy's Stability Programme Update 2009

• Italy's Stability Programme 2009
  ( PDF, 937 Kb )
• Nota di Aggiornamento 2010-2012 (Italian version)
  ( PDF, 173 Kb )

• Italy's Stability Programme - Previous Issues
  ( Link to internal page )