Italy will stick to contested budget plans: Treasury tells EU

The Italian Treasury told the European Commission on Monday that it would stick to its contested budget plans, but promised to intervene if it failed to meet its debt and deficit goals.

In a letter to the Commission, published on the Treasury website, Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said he recognised that the government's 2019 budget was not in line with the EU Stability and Growth Pact. However, he said the government had to take "hard but necessary decisions" to try to boost economic growth.