Premier of Italy promises 10-pwercen growth of GDP
Baku, January 21 (AZERTAC). The government on Friday was poised to present its package of economic liberalizations that had already been hotly contested before it was announced.
Premier Mario Monti held a mammoth cabinet meeting on Friday to approve measures that his emergency government had promised would hit ''all sectors''. The draft bill under examination included moves to make it possible to increase the number of taxi licenses and for control of issuing them to be transferred from local governments to a national authority.
Italian taxi drivers are vehemently against these changes and have staged a series of protests and wildcat strikes over the last week.
The draft also featured moves to nominate 2,000 more notaries, allow for the creation of more pharmacies and to scrap red-tape hampering the start-up of businesses.
Another measure under consideration would give newsagents the freedom to sell anything they wanted at their stands and shops.
The draft was also expected to contain a measure that would abolish minimum fees for lawyers, a hypothesis that contributed to solicitors' representatives to announce that they will strike for two days in February.
There were also plans to free petrol stations from ties to a single provider, allowing them to shop around for petrol and, in theory, lower costs.
The cabinet looked set to approve a measure making it possible for civil service departments to pay debts with state bonds too.
The government appeared to have backed down in a number of areas though. A proposal that would have made it possible for some medicines to be sold outside pharmacies looked to have been dumped along with a move to extend the number of issues over which it is possible for consumers to make class-action lawsuits.
A plan to separate the rail network and national train company looked set to be shelved as well. "We've seen a summary of the liberalization measures,'' said Pier Luigi Bersani, the leader of the main centre-left Democratic Party.
"It`s a praise-worthy, important project on an issue that is dear to us. But allow me to say that in many fields, it's possible to do more and do it better and faster".
Former premier Silvio Berlusconi said his People of Freedom Party would work to improve the package by presenting amendments in parliament.
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