Italy to submit budget to Brussels

Italy is due to submit its draft budget by Oct 15 to the EU commission, the bloc’s executive arm, which will check whether it is in line with EU rules.

Italy’s populist coalition is targeting a deficit of 2.4 percent of GDP next year, tripling the previous government’s target, as it pledges more spending despite a huge debt pile, which at about 130 percent of GDP is the biggest in the eurozone behind Greece.

Brussels has rejected the idea of Italy running a larger budget deficit – the gap between income from taxes and government spending – than previously planned over the next three years. The government has said it wants to use a spending boost to kick start investment and consumer spending to fuel growth.