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The Italian national flag, seen between statues, flies atop the Quirinale palace, the office of Italy's president in Rome, Italy, on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. The outgoing premier, Matteo Renzi, is keeping Italy waiting, he has yet to tell the head of state whether he would be willing to stay on despite his defeat in a constitutional referendum.Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg

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By Lorenzo Totaro

November 9, 2017 at 10:07 AM UTC

Updated on

November 9, 2017 at 11:30 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Italy’s ratio of debt to economic output will rise slightly this year and won’t fall below 130 percent through 2019 as the pace of recovery slows, the European Commission said.

The ratio will increase to 132.1 percent of gross domestic product from 132 percent in 2016, the Brussels-based EU executive arm said on Thursday in its autumn economic forecasts. That contrasts with a fall in the ratio to 131.6 percent targeted for 2017 by the government in Rome, which also sees it “more rapidly” declining in the years after that.