EU fiscal rules are ruinous, must be changed - Italy's Salvini

European Union fiscal rules are starving the continent and must be changed, Italy's right-wing deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, said on Wednesday.

"If there are European rules that are starving a continent, these rules must be changed," he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with business representatives in Rome.

He was speaking a day after roiling international financial markets by saying the government was ready to breach EU rules that seek to limit budget deficits and curb excessive debt.