Italy readies to discuss budget with EU authorities

The Italian government is ready to sit and discuss its budget targets with European Union authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Monday, restating that the populist coalition had no plan to leave the euro.

Italy has come under fire in Brussels with a plan to lift the budget deficit to 2.4 per cent of economic output next year from 1.8 per cent in 2018. The EU Commission has labelled Rome's 2019 draft budget an unprecedented breach of EU fiscal rules.

Di Maio told radio RTL 102.5 that Italy would send a letter to the commission explaining its reasons for sticking to the 2.4 per cent goal and that the government was ready to "sit at the table".