No EU budget action against Italy for now - Moscovici

The European Commission will not start a disciplinary procedure against Italy over the country's 2020 draft budget at this stage, economic commissioner Pierre Moscovici said on Thursday. He said Brussels was engaged in a regular exchange of information with Rome over next year's budget. That would form the basis for the Commission's decision over Italy's compliance with fiscal rules.

But that decision "will not be the rejection of the budget or the opening of a procedure, for now," Moscovici told a news conference. He encouraged Italy to adopt structural reforms to reduce its debt and revive growth, which is forecast to remain very weak.

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