Italian FinMin: We’re not the next Greece

Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said Tuesday there is no way Italy will follow in Greece’s footsteps if it does leave the euro zone.

“Italy has completely turned around. It is now growing [and] is implementing more than any other country in structural reforms,” Padoan said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Padoan made his remarks after Greece handed its creditors new proposals on unlocking funds to keep the country from default, with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras offering hope for a deal and warning the cost of failure would be enormous.

The reform proposals mark a further attempt by Tsipras to compromise with lenders, as time runs out to reach a deal to prevent his country going bankrupt.

Padoan added that, while some consider that Greece’s exit from the euro zone would be to its benefit, he believes it will do more harm than good.

“One has to weigh in not just the apparent benefits that will most likely come through the devaluation of the new drachma, but [also] the cost, which will have to do especially with the fact that the debt denominated in euros remains [and] will put an additional burden on Greece.”

CNBC

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