UPDATE 2-ECB urges Italy to reconsider proposal on central bank's $300 billion gold

The European Central Bank has urged Italy to reconsider a parliamentary amendment asserting that the national central bank's gold reserves belong to the Italian people, a document showed on Wednesday.

The European Central Bank has urged Italy to reconsider a parliamentary amendment asserting that the national central bank's gold reserves belong to the Italian people, a document showed on Wednesday. The Bank of Italy, a public institution independent of the government, owns the world's third-largest national gold stockpile, behind the U.S. and Germany. Its 2,452 metric tons of gold are equivalent to roughly 13% of Italy's national output.

"The Italian authorities are invited to reconsider the draft provision, also with a view to preserving the independent performance of the Bank of Italy," the ECB said in its opinion. Lawmakers from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party want to declare that the gold belongs to the Italian people. But the ECB's criticism may prompt the ruling coalition to drop the plan, which was tabled as an amendment to next year's budget.

CENTRAL BANK INDEPENDENCE Politicians of all parties have sought for years to clarify ownership of the gold, with some eyeing a possible sale to cut public debt or fund tax cuts and spending. All such proposals have met resistance from European Union authorities.

In a similar case in 2019, the ECB warned that any infringement of central bank autonomy, including in the management of gold reserves, would breach EU treaties. The statute of the European System of Central Banks bars central bankers from seeking or taking instructions from EU institutions or member states. The Bank of Italy says on its website that gold could be used as collateral for loans or, as a last resort, sold to buy the national currency to support its value.

Meloni's party had already softened its proposal by removing a reference to the state to avoid ECB criticism. The initial amendment said: "The gold reserves, managed and held by the Bank of Italy, belong to the state, on behalf of the Italian people." The ECB opinion also comes amid growing concern in European capitals over policies pursued by U.S. President Donald Trump, which have raised questions about Federal Reserve independence.

Sources have told Reuters that some central bank officials have even considered pooling dollar and gold reserves outside the U.S. if the Fed, perhaps under Trump's influence, were to shut its emergency liquidity line to the ECB — a backstop banks have relied on since the financial crisis. (Editing by Giselda Vagnoni and Mark Potter)

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