ROME: Italy’s coalition government has agreed on the “numbers and contents” of the budget it will propose to Brussels in a bid to avoid disciplinary action over its plans to hike deficit spending next year, a League party spokeswoman said on Monday.
The European Commission rejected the Italian budget in October, estimating it would not lower the country’s huge debt and declaring it in blatant breach of EU fiscal rules. Rome submitted the revised plan last week with a lower deficit.
But a final deal with Brussels had yet to be reached, and the government sat down on Sunday evening to a marathon meeting to hammer out the details of a possible compromise.
“We have found an agreement on further fiscal reductions that probably will be appreciated by the EU,” League party leader Matteo Salvini said after the meeting, Ansa news agency reported.
Time is running out to finalise the 2019 budget law, which must be passed by the end of the year. The government summit ended after more than four hours and few details were given.
