Italy Signals It Won’t Budge on Budget Plans in Clash With EU

• Italy Signals It Won’t Budge on Budget Plans in Clash With EU
  by John Follain, https://www.bloomberg.com/ , 9 Nov 2018
  * Deputy Premier Di Maio says government will stick to promises
  * Populists pressured by European Commission, internal tension
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  Italy signaled it would not bow to pressure from the European Union to water down its budget for next year, with Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio dismissing the prospect of sanctions as unlikely.
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  Speaking to the Foreign Press Association in Rome, Di Maio of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement said he was open to dialogue but made no hint of concessions. The populist government is preparing to reply to the European Commission by next Tuesday’s deadline.
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  Two Points of View
  European Commission and Italy’s government don’t agree on budget forecasts .
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  “We have made commitments and we will stick to these commitments to be a credible country,” said Di Maio, adding that a citizen’s income for the poor and a lower retirement age would not be delayed. After skepticism from Brussels, he said the government is confident about a 2.4 percent deficit target for next year because of a pickup in economic growth and cuts to wasteful spending.
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