The Italian government said it has resolved its differences over a contentious tax amnesty and now wants to talk with the European Union despite approving a budget which breaches EU regulations.
Italy will on Monday send a letter to the European Commission explaining its reasons for sticking to the 2.4 per cent deficit goal, deputy prime minister and M5S leader, Luigi Di Maio, said on Sunday.
Italy last week ignored criticism from Brussels over its controversial budget plan.
However, the nation’s new populist government is insistent on receiving the EU’s approval.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he would visit EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in the near future to discuss the issue.
Meanwhile, Italy’s far-right deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, affirmed that Italy does not intend on leaving the EU or the eurozone, and will see the budget “through to the end”.
“We are comfortable in this continent,” he added.
The government’s budget plan prompted a credit downgrade by international credit rating agency Moody’s on Friday, which cut Italy’s sovereign debt rating to one notch above junk status.
