Barroso, Letta discuss Italy's economic reforms programme

The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, Thursday met the new Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, for the first time in Brussels, who has made a presentation tour that also took him to Berlin and Paris. "Political stability is back in Italy: from the newly elected parliament, to the President of the Republic, also re-elected, and the government, that is now carried by a large cross party support," Barroso told reporters after the meeting. "The country has embarked on an ambitious road. I'm sure it cannot and it will not stop here, if the steep slope of mistrust, high debt and recession is to be avoided. Of course, the road is difficult, but it is the only way to get to the highway of growth and jobs," added Barroso. On his part, Letta said he presented to Barroso the program he presented in the Italian parliament. He clarified that the programme is based on two main points, the constitutional reform for changing the credibility of Italian politics and the second is to put in place measures to combat unemployment especially among young people.