Italy, EC reach budget agreement

(ANSA) - Rome, December 19 - European Commissioners on Wednesday are set to examine a "technical" agreement reached between Rome and Brussels late on Tuesday on Italy's budget for 2019.
    Premier Giuseppe Conte is set to report to the Senate at midday on Wednesday after the breakthrough. 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. 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 has 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.