The Italian central bank says the country’s public debt has risen to an all-time high of over two trillion euros as the eurozone struggles to overcome a deepening financial crisis.
According to a report issued by the bank on Friday, Italy’s public debt in October rose to 2.015 trillion euros (USD 2.64 trillion) from 1.995 trillion euros in September.
The figure shows a 3.7 percent rise compared to January this year.
There are also growing concerns that the high public debt could lead to more unemployment in a country already mired in recession.
Italy started to experience recession after its economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the third quarter of 2011 and by 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The bank’s announcement comes despite the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Borroso saying earlier this week that the European Union (EU) had reached many of its goals and would continue to save Europe from its debt crisis.
Borroso added that the commission had reached its 25-percent initiative burden reduction goal to save approximately 40 billion euros. He also said the economic crisis needs smart regulation to boost growth, create jobs and make the single market work.
Europe plunged into financial crisis in early 2008. The worsening debt crisis has forced the EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures, which have triggered incidents of social unrest and massive protests in many European countries.
