About: Monti

Bersani fails to form government, President mulls next move

Centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani has failed in his attempt to find a way out of Italy's political deadlock and President Giorgio Napolitano whose term ends mid-May will now seek another solution, the president's palace said yesterday (28 March).

Four new leaders expected at this week’s EU summit

This week's EU summit (14-15 March) will see four new faces, even though just five weeks have elapsed since the 7-8 February summit. Resignations and elections have brought Slovenia and Malta new prime ministers and Cyprus a new president, while Bulgaria will be represented by the president ahead of an imminent poll.

Frattini: A Bersani-Berlusconi coalition can give Italy stability

A grand coalition of Bersani-Berlusconi can provide Italy the stability Italy needs, Franco Frattini, a former European commissioner, tells EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.

Italian election plagued by fears of stalemate

Italians finish voting today (25 February) in one of the most closely watched and unpredictable elections in years - and one with high stakes for the eurozone.

Hollande: Conditions ‘not there yet’ for EU budget deal

President François Hollande said yesterday (3 February) that France was keen to agree the European Union's 2014-2020 budget at a summit in Brussels later this week, but there was still much work to be done.

Italian left picks Bersani for Monti’s successor

Pier Luigi Bersani, the determinedly prosaic leader of Italy's Democratic Party, promised supporters he would not tell them "fairy tales", after his overwhelming victory yesterday (2 December) at a primary to pick the centre-left candidate in next year's election.

Italian left holds primaries to elect Monti’s successor

Pier Luigi Bersani, head of Italy's Democratic Party, will face his main rival Matteo Renzi in a runoff next week to pick the centre-left's candidate to succeed Mario Monti as prime minister, following the first round of a primary vote held yesterday (25 November).

Flurry of high-level meetings marks start of EU political season

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy interrupted his holiday in Seville yesterday (28 August) to visit Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Madrid, while Commission President José Manuel Barroso received Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti. A flurry of other upcoming meetings marks the beginning of a heated season.

Hollande meets Monti in move to counter Merkel

French President François Hollande met yesterday (14 June) with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, making it clear he was building alliances with leaders in Rome and Madrid who back his challenge to German-imposed austerity.

Monti calls for political unity, fears domino effect

Prime Minister Mario Monti made a dramatic appeal to Italy's politicians yesterday (13 June) to back his tough economic medicine to avoid the country becoming the next victim of the euro debt crisis. Moody’s downgraded Spain and Cyprus, and panic mounted in Greece ahead of a Sunday vote that could see the country leave the eurozone.

EU core countries to hold crisis mini-summit

The leaders of France, Germany, Spain and Italy will meet in Rome after the June Greek election to discuss the eurozone crisis, the Italian press reports, as talk of Greece leaving the single currency gain momentum.

Cameron spearheads liberal agenda for growth

British Prime Minister David Cameron and leaders of 11 other EU countries have called on the Union's institutions to stick to a liberal agenda for growth, bolder economic integration with the USA and deepening trade and investment relations with Russia, China and other strategic partners.

The EU must learn from its mistakes over the past decade

"The EU needs new thinking. After eight years of stop-start negotiations, the Union finally has a new rulebook, the Lisbon Treaty. But, despite Europeans' shared anxieties about economic growth, government debt, the stability of the euro, immigration and the environment, there is not yet a clear sense of what the EU's priorities for the next five years should or will be," writes Hugo Brady, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, in a December commentary.

Crisis may boost ‘Social Europe’, not treaty

Amid growing unemployment and increasing inequality in Europe, the new social provisions in the Lisbon Treaty will not immediately correct social imbalances, according to experts. But the crisis might trigger the right kind of social innovation and reform the market economy, they say.

Monti: Thanks, but no thanks

Competition Commissioner Mario Monti has rejected Berlusconi's offer for him to replace Finance Minister Tremonti. Monti prefers a third term in Brussels.

European Environmental Bureau revives ecotax debate

The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) launched an 18-month campaign on environmental fiscal reform (EFR) on Tuesday 27 November. The campaign was presented in Brussels by former Greek finance minister and former EU Environment Commissioner Yannis Paleocrassas. It will run for one and a half year in the Member States and accession countries.

Blueprint for reform of EU competition policy adopted

The European Commission adopted Commissioner Monti's blueprint for a radical reform of EU competition policy. The blueprint is a follow-up to the White paper on modernisation of the rules concerning articles 81 (restrictive agreements) and 82 (abuses of dominant positions), which former Commissioner Van Miert launched in April 1999.

WorldCom-Sprint merger blocked

The Commission's antitrust authorities decided to block the proposed merger between US telecoms giants MCI WorldCom and Sprint.