Ex-premier and Forza Italia
(FI) leader Silvio Berlusconi said Monday that Italy will
respect the EU's 3% deficit-to-GDP-ratio limit if the centre
right wins the March 4 general election.
"We presented our programme to the EPP (European People's
Party)," Berlusconi said after meeting EPP Secretary-General
Antonio Lopez in Brussels.
"The important thing is our desire to respect the 3% deficit
rule".
The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement's (M5S) premier
candidate Luigi Di Maio has mooted breaching the 3% limit.
The centre-right coalition FI is part of also features the
Euroskeptic League.
Berlusconi added that his relations with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel "have always been positive and the lady is backing
us with determination".
Democratic Party leader Matteo Renzi said Berlusconi's 23%
flat tax proposal was "unjust and does not have the financial
cover".
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Monday
he had had an "excellent" meeting with Berlusconi.
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