WRITTEN QUESTION No. 311/98 by Johanna MAIJ-WEGGEN to the Commission. Spending commitments in Italian Government finances
Date: 1998-02-10
Institutions: European Parliament, MAIJ-WEGGEN
Subjects: Economic and Monetary Union, Italy, bank, financial situation, financial statistics, gross domestic product, loan, loss, tax on profits of self-employment

C 223/164

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

17. 7. 98

5.
Regulation (EEC) No 2078/92, the (cid:145)agri-environment(cid:146) regulation enables a Member State to recompense
farmers for managing a natural area, particularly if the Community-wide appeal of that is recognised under the
Natura 2000 network. That approach has already been very widely adopted by the Member States.

Article 2(3) provides that general account shall be taken of socio-economic and regional interests against
6.
the  backdrop  of  a  directive  that  is  intended  to  maintain  natural  habitats  and  species  in  a  favourable  state  of
conservation.

The criteria for site selection are set out in detail in Article 4(1)(3) and in Annex III. They are without exception
scientific. Article6(4) states that socio-economic factors may be taken into account in managing selected sites.

(98/C 223/213)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0311/98

by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission

(10 February 1998)

Subject: Spending commitments in Italian Government finances

In the Netherlands Second Chamber the following questions were put to the Dutch Finance Minister. Will the
Commission also answer these questions with a view to ensuring the greatest possible objectivity in relation to
Italy(cid:146)s position?

Is the Commission aware that the Bank of Italy made a capital gain of LIT 7 billion from gold sales on

1.
which it paid capital gains tax of 50%, or 0.175% of GDP, to the Italian Government?

2.
Does  the  Commission  not  agree  that  this  profit  can  only  have  been  obtained  by  selling  the  gold  at
significantly  below  its  market  value?  Is  this  an  accounting  measure  to  ensure  that  in  a  roundabout  way  the
transaction is allowed for the purposes of the EMU deficit, whereas sell-offs of gold or other State assets are not?

Can the Commission examine whether this transaction has been allowed by Eurostat for the purposes of the

3.
EMU deficit?

4. When looking at the excessive deficit procedure preceding admission to EMU, will the Commission see
that  all  Member  States  make  it  clear  what  extent  the  1997  deficit  position  has  been  influenced  by  ad  hoc
measures?

Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission

(16 March 1998)

In 1974, to combat speculative attacks on the Lira, the Bank of Italy obtained a USD 2 billion (1 840 MECU) loan
from the Bundesbank. The loan was granted upon guarantee of 543 tons of gold that the Ufficio Italiano Cambi
(UIC) bought from the Bank of Italy. The loan was redeemed in September 1978, but the gold remained in the
balance sheet of the UIC. In the following years the gold was revalued quarterly, but the related capital gains
were not taxed. According to the Italian tax code, capital gains are taxed only when realised. In July 1997, UIC
sold the gold back to the Bank of Italy. The sale gave rise to a capital gain for the UIC and, accordingly, to a tax
obligation of ITL 3.076 Trillion (1 577 MECU) or 0.16% of gross domestic product (GDP) that was settled in
November 1997.

Eurostat has analysed this operation to determine its appropriate accounting treatment in terms of the system of
integrated accounts ESA 79. In its decision of 27 January 1998 it is stated: (cid:145)Eurostat has decided to treat this
payment as a financial transaction which has no effect on the measurement of the government deficit as defined
for the purposes of the excessive deficit procedure(cid:146). In other words, this operation will not reduce the deficit in
the definition which is relevant for access to economic and monetary union (EMU).

The Commission will present an assessment of the sustainability of the Italian budgetary position, as well as that
of other Member States, in its report on convergence, in accordance with Article 109j(1) of the EC Treaty, to be
released by 25 March 1998.