Italy Approves Austerity Measures

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　　Mario Monti said Sunday the measures include immediate³ budget cuts as well as significant steps to fight tax evasion⁴.  To do his part to cut the spending, Mr. Monti said he will forego his salary as prime minister.

　　The measures will be presented to the parliament, which must approve them.

　　Mr. Monti spent the weekend briefing political parties, unions, business groups, consumer lobbies and others.

　　Greece, Ireland and Portugal have already been forced to secure international bailouts over the last year and a half.  The chief fear now for European leaders is that Italy, with the continent's third biggest economy, may also need a bailout to avoid defaulting on its debts - a crisis that would threaten the continent's monetary⁵ union and could lead to a renewed worldwide recession.

　　German Chancellor⁶ Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are to meet in Paris on Monday to announce a joint⁷ German-French plan to resolve the crisis, ahead of an European Union summit next Friday in Brussels.

　　All 27 EU nations would have to approve changes to the 1992 Maastricht Treaty that created the EU, but that broad approval may not be necessary if spending controls apply only to the 17 nations that use the euro as their currency.

　　U.S. Treasury⁸ Secretary Timothy Geithner will urge European leaders to take action on the debt crisis when he travels to Europe this week. In Frankfurt Tuesday, Geithner will meet with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann.

　　Later in his three-day trip he will meet with Mr. Monti, President Sarkozy and Spanish Prime Minister-elect Mariano Rajoy.

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