ECB: 'The purpose of the gold standard is unclear'. And Lagarde: "Bankitalia has full authority over reserves"

"It is not clear to the ECB what the concrete purpose of the proposed provision is. For this reason, and in the absence of any explanation as to the purpose of the proposed provision, the Italian authorities are invited to reconsider the proposed provision, also with a view to preserving the independent exercise of the fundamental tasks related to the Sebc of the Bank of Italy under the Treaty'. This is what the ECB states in an opinion sent to the Mef yesterday evening, 2 December, on the amendment to the manoeuvre presented by FdI on Bankitalia's gold reserves. The opinion, anticipated by the Corriere della Sera, is published on the website of the European Central Bank.

"It is the Bank of Italy that has full authority over Italy's gold reserves". This was stated by ECB President Christine Lagarde during a hearing at the European Parliament, responding to a question on an opinion just expressed by the institution on measures being considered in Italy on gold reserves. "This is not a trivial issue," she noted, "because Italy is the third largest holder of gold among Central Banks, so it is a key component of Italy's reserves. The ECB had already issued its opinion on the issue in 2019, and even with this latest one just issued, based on the EU Treaties "there is no reference to ownership" of gold reserves, "it is not identified in the treaties. What the treaties say, very clearly, is that the reserves and the management of the reserves belong to the central bank of each state. And the Bank of Italy is no different from other states'. "The Bank of Italy," Lagarde continued, "has the duty to hold and manage these reserves. And from 2019 the opinion of the ECB is the same. We have made it very specific: it is the Bank of Italy that has full authority' on gold reserves. (image source: European Parliament).

Fratelli d'Italia's amendment to the manoeuvre, first signatory group leader Lucio Malan, on Bankitalia's gold has been reformulated in recent days in an interpretative sense. The provision in the new text states that the provision on the management of official reserves contained in the Consolidated Law on Currency 'shall be interpreted to mean that the gold reserves managed and held by the Bank of Italy belong to the Italian people'.

The previous version stated that 'the gold reserves managed and held by the Bank of Italy belong to the State, in the name of the Italian people'. The new text of the amendment, Malan himself reported yesterday, is currently being investigated by the European Central Bank.

'We are waiting for a further reformulation by the Mef'. This was said by the rapporteur of the manoeuvre, Guido Liris, when asked to comment on the ECB's opinion on Bankitalia's gold amendment at the end of a meeting at the FdI group on the budget law.