Brussels rejects Italy budget, paves way for sanctions
The European Commission has rejected Italy's 2019 spending plan for contravening EU fiscal rules.
- World
- AFP
- Published Date: 12:00 | 21 November 2018
- Modified Date: 02:47 | 21 November 2018
Brussels officially rejected Italy's big-spending budget on Wednesday, clearing the path for unprecedented sanctions and deepening a bitter row with Rome's populist government.
"With what the Italian government has put on the table, we see a risk of the country sleepwalking into instability," Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told a press conference in Brussels.
"We conclude that the opening of a debt-based excessive deficit procedure is... warranted," he added, referring to the EU's official process to punish member states for public over-spending.
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