(ANSA) - Brussels, March 7 - The European Commission said in a report on Wednesday that Italy is continuing to experience "excessive economic imbalances", including "high public debt and protracted weak productivity growth in a context of high, though decreasing, non-performing loans (NPLs) and unemployment". It said Italy's public debt had stabilized but had not embarked on a downward path because of a deterioration in the structural balance.
The report also said Rome's drive to approve and implement structural economic reforms has "slowed".
Italian growth is far below the EU average, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said Wednesday.
"In Italy we have seen that growth strengthened in 2017 and we expect it to remain constant this year, but it is still a long way below the European average, the debt is the second highest in the EU and productivity is low," he said.
"There are still problems in the banking sector, but they are being tackled".
In general, he said, there are several "challenges" to be overcome.
The Italian economy grew by 1.5% last year, compared to 2.2% in the eurozone.