Both Barroso and the new Italian PM Enrico Letta called for urgent action on growth and jobs backed by healthy public finances.
"I am very positively impressed with the strong European commitment of a Prime Minister who sees his country firmly anchored in the European Union and recognises the enormous benefits of Europe to its citizens", said President Barroso following his breakfast meeting with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta.
The President pointed out that stability is now back in Italy. "I think this stability is extremely important, because stability is a vital precondition for adopting and implementing the right policies that will help the country recover from the crisis", he said.
During the meeting, it became evident that the President and the Prime Minister consider growth and job-enhancing measures as a top priority. However, President Barroso underlined: "We are also both firmly convinced that you can only build lasting growth and competitiveness on the back of healthy public finances. Every euro spent on debt is a euro not invested in jobs, not invested in youth, not invested in entrepreneurs or education or research".
Asked by journalists on the eventual conclusion of the Excessive Deficit Procedure for Italy, the President said: "I am very confident that it will be possible, provided that now Italy details the measures that it intends to take, that Italy will be able to go out of the excessive deficit procedure. But that of course now depends on the presentation in concrete terms of the plans of the new Italian government."
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