Italy has been testing the patience of its European partners for three years: the ESM reform approved by eurozone finance ministers in November 2020 has not yet been ratified by parliament in Rome. All the other 19 euro states already did this a long time ago, because the innovation that now also allows banks to be bailed out (the so-called backstop) is actually expected to come into effect at the beginning of 2024. But this is becoming increasingly unlikely : Next Thursday and Friday, when EU heads of state and government meet in Brussels for the last time this year, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will appear empty-handed in the eyes of her EU colleagues. meet: The ratification of the MEE was postponed again in Rome.
