The Italian government will unveil a program of wide-ranging structural reforms as part of its new budget this fall, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Saturday.
“From September important challenges await us, ones that are crucial to revive the country and our economy,” Conte, who leads a government made up of the far-right League and populist 5Star Movement, said in a video statement posted on Facebook.
“To do this we are preparing a series of structural reforms fundamental for economic growth and social development.”
According to Conte, the plan will include new measures to simplify the award of public works contracts, fight corruption and streamline the justice system, to send a positive signal to foreign investors.
The government’s proposal for its 2019 budget would be “serious, rigorous and also courageous,” he also said.
The two governing parties are currently working out the budget allocation for 2019, and the government must submit its plans to Brussels for review by the EU in October.
The governing parties have said the plan will include a flat tax-rate, a citizens income worth up to a reported €780 each month for the poor, and measures to bring down the retirement age.
The plan will not shift funding from the health, research and education sectors, and will focus on combatting poverty, which affects more than 5 million people in Italy, according to Conte.
This month, Italian Economy Minister Giovanni Tria insisted the budget will not breach EU deficit rules, adding that Rome remained committed to reducing its debt and staying in the eurozone.