The European Commission has
decided not to open an infringement procedure against Italy for
excessive debt, EU sources said on Wednesday.
European Commissioners on Wednesday examined a "technical"
agreement reached between Rome and Brussels late on Tuesday on
Italy's budget for 2019.
The Commission rejected the government's initial draft
budget plan, which saw Italy running a deficit of 2.4% of GDP
next year to finance key pledges and boost sluggish growth,
saying it breached EU rules.
Premier Giuseppe Conte's League-5-Star Movement (M5S)
government proposed bring the deficit down to 2.04% to stop the
EU opening an infringement procedure.
The government had said it is not willing to drop its two key
pledges, the 'citizenship wage' basic income for job seekers and
the 'quota 100' pension reform that will bring down the
retirement age for many people.
Conte is set to report to the Senate at 13:00 after the
breakthrough.
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