The European Commission (EC) has asked Italy for a further €2.5 billion-€3 billion ($3.40 billion) in savings before approving the country’s 2019 budget, Corriere della Sera daily reported on Tuesday.
Italy has sent an amended version of the disputed budget to Brussels and a spokeswoman for Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Monday he was working to reach a deal later in the day, reports Reuters.
According to the daily, Tria had told EU Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis in a phone call that Deputy Prime Ministers Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio opposed further cuts because they did not want next year’s deficit target to fall below the revised level of 2.04 per cent.