Italy defies EU pressure to present revised budget, risks sanctions in stand-off with Brussels
- The European Union rejected Italy’s draft budget, saying it broke the rules, and gave the government until midnight Tuesday to submit a new version
- Italy’s populist government decides to stick with big-spending strategy in bid to fulfil election promises
The Italian government has defied a request to present a revised draft budget for 2019 to the European Commission, as it pursues its big-spending strategy.
Luigi Di Maio, the deputy prime minister and leader of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, which is ruling in coalition with the far-right League, said the government was committed to maintaining its deficit target of 2.4 per cent but it would move forward with plans to cut taxes, introduce a universal basic income and lower the retirement age.
Italian leaders had until midnight on Tuesday to respond to the commission, which last month took the unprecedented step of asking a member state to revise its draft budget.
“In the letter to the EU, we have included safeguard clauses to avoid the target going over 2.4 per cent in case the government’s growth projections are not confirmed,” Di Maio said.
“We are convinced that this is the budget that will restart the country.”
He added that the government would seek to raise money by selling some state-owned property, but would stick to other plans.