Italy Threatens EU with RETALIATION in Budget Row by BLOCKING Brussels Plans

• Italy Threatens EU with RETALIATION in Budget Row by BLOCKING Brussels Plans
  by LEVI WINCHESTER, https://www.express.co.uk/
  ITALY’s deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has threatened to engage in a game of political tit-for-tat with European Union (EU) chiefs by warning Rome could veto the bloc’s next seven-year budget.
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  Italy has been locked in a war of words with the European Commission (EC) after refusing to back down over its expansionary 2019 budget, which EU chiefs claim breaches previous spending agreements. The indebted nation first sparked fury among EU finance bosses by unveiling plans for a deficit budget of 2.4 percent of GDP – three times the previous administration’s target. The draft was thrown straight back at Italy by the EC to be revised, with finance chiefs claiming the nation’s growth assumptions were too high.
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  But the Italian government of the far-right League and populist Five Star movement have refused to move a muscle on the budget, saying the spending plans are in the best interest of the Italian people. Mr Salvini risked infuriating EU bosses further today as he warned Italy could veto the next eurozone budget being proposal by France and Germany.
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  French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said yesterday the budget should be up and running in 2021 if it is agreed by EU finance ministers in December. Under the joint proposal, the eurozone budget would be available only to those members of the currency bloc that abide by EU rules which limit budget deficits and debt. This could see Italy left out in the cold if EU chiefs continue to accuse the nation of breaking spending agreements.
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