Italy Threatens to Break EU Rules on Bailouts

FT: Renzi ready to defy Brussels and bail out Italy’s troubled banks

Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, is determined to intervene with public funds if necessary despite warnings from Brussels and Berlin over the need to respect rules that make creditors rather than taxpayers fund bank rescues, according to several officials and bankers familiar with their plans.

Since the EU has imposed these rules on other countries already, a violation by Italy cannot be swept under the rug.