Netherlands Blasts Italy Budget Truce, Doubts Numbers Add Up

Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra lashed out at the European Commission’s truce with Italy over Rome’s spending plans, in comments highlighting continuing discomfort within the euro area about the Italian budget.

“It’s a missed opportunity to do the right thing for the long run,” Hoekstra said in an interview from Brussels on Monday. He made the comments after a meeting with his counterparts from the currency bloc in which he asked the commission to explain “in writing” how numbers add up in the compromise which was reached last month.