V.strong adjustment to avert procedure - Tria

Rome, July 4 - There was a "very strong" budget adjustment to avert the possible EU infringement procedure, perhaps the strongest in recent years, Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said Thursday. Tria stressed the 7.6 billion euro adjustment had been carried out "in a rather difficult phase of the economy in which we are still close to zero growth". But the move, he told the Senate, "made us safe also with the financial markets", as shown by the sharp fall in the bond spread. "Some people spoke of a supplementary budget but there was not one, at least in the traditional sense of the term," there was "a correction of the budget on the basis of the public finance trend". There will also be a "minimal structural correction" in 2020, he said. The government, he said, had made public finances safe and secure in order to implement an "effective and efficient" tax cuts.