Abstract

The essay explores the main consequences deriving from the insertion of a balanced budget amendment in the Italian Constitution (Constitutional Law n. 1/2012). Particular attention is paid to the effects of the amendment - considered in conjunction with other similar initiatives adopted at the EU level - on Italy's form of government, on its system of local authorities and on the protection of fundamental rights. Furthermore, through an analysis of the law implementing the reform (Law n. 243/2012), the article focuses on the emergence of a new Italian "financial constitution," on its rigid and flexible elements, and on the differences and similarities between the current setting and the original one of the 1948 Constitution. Particular attention is also devoted to the issue of control and to the problems arising from the enforcement of the new amendment by the Constitutional Court.