Italy's Berlusconi in emergency meeting on budget-balancing
Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi’s government is today holding an emergency meeting to pass new measures to balance the budget by 2013 and calm market concerns over the country’s public finances.
Mr Berlusconi’s office said the cabinet meeting will be held at 7pm local time tonight.
Finance minister Giulio Tremonti has said possible measures include privatising local services, raising the tax on capital gains, raising the retirement age for women in the private sector immediately, and relegating non-religious holidays to Sundays to increase productivity.
Feverish talks between Mr Berlusconi, Mr Tremonti and other cabinet ministers and coalition leaders went into the early hours of today at the premier’s Rome residence.
