Economics

Italy Raises Deficit Target, Risking Fresh Conflict With The EU

GDP growth forecast slashed to 0.1 percent from 1 percent
Draft of economic and financial document obtained by Bloomberg

An employee works on electric cabling inside the shell of a metro train carriage during manufacture at rail car plant in Naples, Italy.
Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg

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By Chiara Albanese, John Follain, and Lorenzo Totaro

April 9, 2019 at 12:34 PM UTC

Updated on

April 9, 2019 at 1:12 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Italy cut its forecast for economic growth and raised the projected budget deficit, setting the stage for a fresh conflict between the populist government and the European Commission.

Gross domestic product is forecast to rise 0.1 percent this year, down from a previous estimate for a 1 percent expansion, according to a draft document of the new economic and financial outlook obtained by Bloomberg News. The deficit forecast for 2019 is 2.5 percent of GDP, while the target which includes the impact of planned policy measures is for 2.4 percent.