We are ready to seek damages from those who want to harm Italy, says Matteo Salvini

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Tuesday that criticism of Italy's budget by European Union officials was raising the country's borrowing costs and the government may seek financial redress.

Italian bond yields have risen sharply since the government last week sharply hiked Rome's deficit target for the next three years, triggering criticism from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and other officials.

"The words and the threats of Juncker and other high EU bureaucrats continue to raise the spread (between Italian benchmark bonds and their German equivalent)? We are ready to seek damages from those who want to harm Italy," Salvini said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies.)