A committee of the Italian Parliament approved an amendment to next year's budget. The amendment stated that the gold reserves held by the country's central bank belong to the “people,” ignoring criticism from the ECB. Since the right-wing political party “Italian Brotherhood Party” led by Italian Prime Minister Meloni proposed this amendment last month, the ECB has intervened twice, warning that the move could damage the independence of the Bank of Italy. The text approved by the Italian Senate Budget Committee on Friday reads: “The gold reserves shown on the Bank of Italy's balance sheet, managed and held by the Bank of Italy belong to the Italian people.” The proposed legislation will also have to go through multiple approval processes before it comes into effect, including language aimed at clarifying that it will not take precedence over EU rules protecting the independence of central banks. The Bank of Italy said on its website that it has the world's third-largest national gold reserves, after the US and Germany.

A committee of the Italian Parliament approved an amendment to next year's budget. The amendment stated that the gold reserves held by the country's central bank belong to the “people,” ignoring criticism from the ECB. Since the right-wing political party “Italian Brotherhood Party” led by Italian Prime Minister Meloni proposed this amendment last month, the ECB has intervened twice, warning that the move could damage the independence of the Bank of Italy. The text approved by the Italian Senate Budget Committee on Friday reads: “The gold reserves shown on the Bank of Italy's balance sheet, managed and held by the Bank of Italy belong to the Italian people.” The proposed legislation will also have to go through multiple approval processes before it comes into effect, including language aimed at clarifying that it will not take precedence over EU rules protecting the independence of central banks. The Bank of Italy said on its website that it has the world's third-largest national gold reserves, after the US and Germany.