Tax & Spend
Italy Challenges EU by Using Deficit to Fund Election Vows
- Meloni seeking to balance tax-cut promises, souring economy
- Deficit goal risks confrontation with Brussels given EU limit
This article is for subscribers only.
Italy will manage to bring its budget deficit below the limit set by the European Union only in 2026, delaying an earlier objective and risking a confrontation with Brussels.
The right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni postponed by a year pulling the deficit under the EU’s ceiling of 3% of gross domestic product, according to a budget plan approved by the cabinet late Wednesday. The bloc is set to reimpose the limit in January.