France, Italy Get EU Warning Over Debt Level, Spending Plans

Budgets of six euro-area nations ‘at risk of non-compliance’
European Commission to reassess Italy’s debt in the spring

European Union (EU) flags fly outside the the European Commission headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. European finance ministers will today seek to meet a self-imposed deadline for drawing additional aid to the debt crisis and to form new budget rules as investor confidence that a comprehensive solution is achievable wanes.Photographer: Jock Fistick/Bloomberg

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By Viktoria Dendrinou

November 22, 2017 at 11:07 AM UTC

Updated on

November 22, 2017 at 1:45 PM UTC

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Budget plans by Italy, France and four other euro-area countries risk violating the European Union’s spending rules, the bloc’s executive arm said, while it delivered a warning to Rome about high government debt.

In a set of assessments presented by the European Commission as part of the euro area’s fiscal framework, the 2018 spending plans for France, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Portugal and Slovenia were found to be “at risk of non-compliance” with the bloc’s rules.