Italy commits to lower deficit despite darkening outlook, sources say
Italy's multi-year budget framework will estimate the 2025 budget deficit at around 3.1% of national output, slightly better then a 3.3% target set in September, said the sources, who asked not to be named.
Giorgia Meloni's government will likely confirm the goal of bringing the fiscal gap below the European Union's 3% of GDP ceiling in 2026, the sources added.
Italy is under a so-called Excessive Deficit Procedure by the European Commission and its new budget framework, which is aimed at cutting the fiscal gap in line with EU requirements, must also comply with the latest reform of the bloc's fiscal rules.
The public debt, proportionally the second-highest in the euro zone after Greece's, is seen at around 136.6% of GDP this year, down from a previous 136.9% target made in September.
The economic plan, to be approved by the cabinet at meeting beginning at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) forecasts gross domestic product will grow by 0.6% this year, down from a 1.2% target made in September, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Next year's growth in the euro zone's third largest economy is seen at 0.8%, down from a previous 1.1%, while growth is also seen at 0.8% in 2027 and 2028.
Under U.S. President Donald Trump's plans announced last week Italy, which has a large trade surplus with the United States, will be subject to a general tariff of 20% along with other European Union countries.
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Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
Trump says Ukraine needs to make a deal after summit with Putin ends without ceasefire
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday Ukraine should agree a deal to end the war with Russia because "Russia is a very big power, and they're not", after holding a summit with President Vladimir Putin that failed to yield a ceasefire. In a major shift, Trump also said he had agreed with Putin that the best way to end the war was to go straight to a peace settlement - not via a ceasefire, as Ukraine and its European allies, until now with U.S. support, have been demanding. Trump's comments came after he met Putin for nearly three hours in Alaska on Friday at the first U.S.-Russia summit since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. "It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," Trump posted on Truth social. The war - the deadliest in Europe for 80 years - has killed or wounded well over a million people from both sides, including thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians, according to analysts. Trump said he would hold talks at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday, adding: "If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people's lives will be saved." Zelenskiy said after a lengthy conversation with Trump following the Alaska summit that Ukraine was ready for constructive cooperation, and he supported the idea of a trilateral meeting. "Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace," he wrote on social media. But Putin made no mention of meeting Zelenskiy when speaking to reporters earlier. Russian state news agency TASS quoted Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov as saying the possibility of a three-way summit including Zelenskiy had not been discussed. In a post-summit interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump signaled that he and Putin had discussed potential land swaps and security guarantees for Ukraine. "I think those are points that we negotiated, and those are points that we largely have agreed on," Trump said. "I think we're pretty close to a deal," he said, adding: "Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they'll say no." When asked by Hannity what he would advise Zelenskiy, Trump said: "Gotta make a deal." "Look, Russia is a very big power, and they're not. They're great soldiers," he added. Zelenskiy has repeatedly underlined the importance of security guarantees for Kyiv as part of any deal, to deter Russia from launching a new invasion at some point in the future. "We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine's security," he said after his call with Trump. Before the summit, Trump had set the goal of agreeing on a ceasefire in the war and said he would not be happy without it. Putin signaled no movement in Russia's long-held positions on the war, but said he agreed with Trump that Ukraine's security must be "ensured". "We are ready to work on this. I would like to hope that the understanding we have reached will allow us to get closer to that goal and open the way to peace in Ukraine," Putin said at a brief media appearance after the summit where neither leader took questions. He added: "We expect that Kyiv and the European capitals will perceive all of this in a constructive manner and will not create any obstacles. That they will not attempt to disrupt the emerging progress through provocation or behind-the-scenes intrigue." For Putin, the very fact of sitting down face-to-face with the U.S. president represented a diplomatic victory. The Kremlin leader had been ostracized by Western leaders since the start of the war, and just a week earlier had been facing a threat of new sanctions from Trump. Some commentators, especially in Europe, were scathing in their reaction. "Putin got his red carpet treatment with Trump, while Trump got nothing. As feared: no ceasefire, no peace," Wolfgang Ischinger, an ex-German ambassador to the United States, posted on X. "No real progress – a clear 1-0 for Putin – no new sanctions. For the Ukrainians: nothing. For Europe: deeply disappointing." Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said: "Now Trump seems to be shifting most of the responsibility to Kyiv and Europe, but reserving some role for himself." She said, however, that Putin had apparently not succeeded as far as he had hoped in getting Trump to publicly side with him and put pressure on Kyiv. Cold War historian Sergey Radchenko wrote: "Putin is a determined opponent, and, yes, he basically won this round because he got something for nothing. Still, Trump did not sell out Ukraine." After Trump returned to Washington, the White House said he spoke to NATO leaders following the lengthy conversation with Zelenskiy. Espen Barth Eide, foreign minister of NATO member Norway, told reporters in Oslo: "We must continue to put pressure on Russia, and even increase it." Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova said the summit had not yielded significant progress toward ending the war but "confirmed that Putin is not seeking peace, but rather an opportunity to weaken Western unity and spread his propaganda." Both Russia and Ukraine carried out overnight air attacks, a daily occurrence in the 3-1/2-year war. Russia launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile targeting Ukraine's territory, Ukraine's Air Force said on Saturday. It said its air defense units destroyed 61 of them. The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said 139 clashes had taken place on the front line over the past day. Russia said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 29 Ukrainian drones overnight. Trump told Fox that he would hold off on imposing tariffs on China for buying Russian oil after making progress with Putin. He did not mention India, another major buyer of Russian crude, which has been slapped with a total 50% tariff on U.S. imports that includes a 25% penalty for the imports from Russia. "Because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that now," Trump said of Chinese tariffs. "I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now." Trump ended his remarks on Friday by telling Putin, "I'd like to thank you very much, and we'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon." "Next time in Moscow," a smiling Putin responded in English. Trump said he might "get a little heat on that one" but that he could "possibly see it happening."
The Guardian
7 minutes ago
- The Guardian
How Trump is using ‘pure lies' about high crime in US cities to justify federal takeovers
When Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of the Metropolitan police department in Washington DC on Monday, he left room for the possibility of making a similar move in other cities across the US, alluding to their high crime rates. 'You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is. We have other cities that are very bad,' Trump said. 'We're not going to let it happen, we're not going to lose our cities.' But both experts and elected officials have been quick to counter Trump's claims, pointing out how major cities are in fact experiencing dramatic decreases in violent crime rates since they peaked during the pandemic. 'Every category of crime and every population group that the FBI covers is reporting a drop pretty much nationwide,' said Jeff Asher, an analyst who studies criminal justice data, adding that there was no disparity in the trend between red and blue cities or states. The downward trend has been consistent nationally since around 2022, as the country began to recover from the pandemic, experts said. 'It's clear that a lot of what we saw during the Covid-19 era has been reversed,' said Ames Grawert, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice who researches crime trends. While it's impossible to isolate the exact causes of the spike in crime during the pandemic, several experts point to the collapse of social services as one cause. Since then, state and federal agencies poured money into communities for projects like gun violence prevention programs as well as more streetlights on local roads. These programs are the same ones being slashed as the Trump administration has prioritized shrinking federal spending. The Department of Justice canceled hundreds of grants earlier this year that funded violence prevention and victims' services programs, affecting organizations in 37 states. Elected officials were quick to slam Trump for floating a possible federal takeover of police in their cities, citing local data that matched the same trend in the FBI data showing public safety improvements as well as pointing out the recent funding cuts. In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson said shootings were down by 40% in the last year alone. 'If President Trump wants to help make Chicago safer, he can start by releasing the funds for anti-violence programs that have been critical to our work to drive down crime and violence. Sending in the national guard would only serve to destabilize our city and undermine our public safety efforts,' he said. And in Maryland, local and state officials released a joint statement similarly criticizing the president for painting a false narrative about where they lived and worked. 'As leaders in Baltimore and the state of Maryland, we stand in strong opposition to the president's latest power grab, which is based on pure lies about our communities,' the statement said. Officials pointed to a 40% drop in violent crime since 2021 and said that progress was being made on public safety issues, despite the challenge of facing the Trump administration's funding cuts. Instead of calling in the national guard, Trump should be looking to partner with local officials, they said. 'We know from experience how to improve public safety: empower our community partners and violence interrupters, invest in our young people and prosecute repeat violent offenders in collaboration with law enforcement,' the statement said. In New York, officials also pushed back fast on Trump's rhetoric. 'New York is moving in the right direction in public safety,' the mayor, Eric Adams, said on Tuesday. While he added that he would be happy to accept more federal support, he added: 'We don't need anyone to come in and take over our law enforcement apparatus, we have the finest police department in the globe.' Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Even Trump's FBI director, Kash Patel, said on Joe Rogan's podcast in June that murder rates were on track to reach a historic low this year. 'If we, the FBI and our government partners, achieve the mission, we'll give the American people the lowest murder rate in decades,' he said. While crime rates are trending in the right direction, there's still work to do to improve public safety concerns, said Rachel Eisenberg, the managing director for rights and justice at the Center for American Progress. But, she said, communities are still best positioned to address these challenges rather than federal troops, echoing the concerns of local officials. 'What Trump is doing now is not about public safety,' she said. 'It's political theater.' Trump doubled down on his claims on Wednesday, suggesting that the crime statistics are a fraud, without specifying which statistics. 'Crime is the worst it's ever been,' he said. As national guard troops arrived in Washington DC this week, Thaddeus Johnson, a senior researcher at the Council on Criminal Justice, said that in the short term, it is likely arrests will go up. 'That can really capture the psyche of people and people can be sensationalized as it really plays on the fears of people,' Johnson said. Ultimately, he said, it's critical to address socioeconomic factors such as access to housing, unemployment rates and income inequity in order to improve public safety. 'Putting the feds in is not going to be the long-term answer,' Johnson said. Meanwhile, Trump has already declared his policy move a victory. 'People are feeling safe already,' he said on Wednesday. 'They're not afraid any more.'
BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
'We must return the human dimension' to talks, says Nobel Peace Prize winner
Image source, Reuters Ukrainian human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk tells the BBC that the 'human dimension must be returned to the political process' taking place over the war. 'What will happen to the dozens of thousands illegally detained citizens, men and women, and prisoners of war… this question is very urgent,' Matviichuk says. According to Ukrainian authorities, nearly 16,000 Ukrainian civilians are still in captivity in Russian prisons after being abducted by the invading army. That's not counting the nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children estimated to have been taken to Russia. In June, I spent time with families of Ukrainian civilians still detained in Russian prisons. Their fear is that their loved ones are being left out of the discussions around peace, and there is no framework in place to return them to Ukraine. Matviichuck says she has lost faith that Trump can bring a peaceful solution to the war. 'As a candidate for president, [he] said that he would finish this war in 24 hours. This is the longest 24 hours in history.'
