Italian Budget Saga could soon be over

According to two officials, the European Commission gave the Italian government a little leeway “provided the GDP-to-deficit ratio doesn’t go over 1.95%.” Italy had earlier agreed to keep the deficit at 1.8%.

Rome proposed running a 2.4% deficit next year, putting it on a collision course with Brussels, which had threatened to slap Italy with an excessive deficit procedure as early as December 19, potentially costing the country up to €9 billion in sanctions.

In a revision to its plans, the government intends to drop the proposed deficit for 2019 to 2%, according to the two officials.

Reference

Politico.eu, Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli, 2018-12-03, “Italy Waves White Flag on Budget”