CERNOBBIO: Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Saturday he did not think the European Central Bank would halt its purchases of Italian and Spanish government bonds.
The ECB, which has been buying Italian bonds in the market to try to hold down yields and stop Rome's borrowing costs spiralling out of control, has been stepping up its warnings that Rome must act quickly to cut its budget deficit.
"I think we will press the ECB to continue with its very wise policy to sustain the efforts of countries such as Italy and Spain," he told reporters at the margins of a conference in the northern town of Cernobbio.
"I would rule out the ECB stopping help to Italy and Spain in this way", he said, after ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet warned that Rome had to stick to pledges to balance its budget and pass economic reforms.
"Trichet's concerns will find an answer: Italy will reach a balanced budget by 2013," he said.
Copyright Reuters, 2011
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