Italian PM says govt remains opposed to austerity measures

Italy's coalition leaders agree on the need to avoid being rapped on the knuckles by the European Union over public finances but the government remains opposed to any belt-tightening measures, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. Conte met with League leaders Matteo Salvini and 5-Star head Luigi Di Maio late on Monday, after threatening to resign if his two deputy prime ministers failed to end weeks of bickering and agree on a strategy to avoid disciplinary steps from the European Commission due to Rome's excessive debt.

"There is full agreement that the disciplinary procedure must be avoided," Conte told reporters after attending a business conference. But "we're not at all ready to revise the government's 'philosophy', so no austerity or recessive measures," he added.