“We will pass the text that came from the Upper Chamber. We will reject all amendments”. This is what the Economy Undersecretary Luigi Casero said, during a telephone interview about changes to the budget law in order to save ambassadors from cuts.

965 amendments were presented at the Lower Chamber. 110 belonged to the majority parties, 53 to the Pdl, while the opposition parties presented 855 amendments, 357 the Democratic party. But the Democrats focused on 40 amendments in particular, 20 of which will have financial effects.

Amendments presented by both the majority and the opposition parties concern the economic benefits for diplomats, which were blocked by the budget law. According to the technical report, the cost of intervention will be of 12.6 million Euros for years 2011-2013, but the amount will be taken from the cuts made to the Foreign Office.

Translated by Chiara Nunnari from John Milton Institute