Italy PM, ministers discuss 2019 budget, agree it must cut debt

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and his top ministers discussed the 2019 budget on Monday and agreed that it will preserve the stability of state finances and lower the public debt, the prime minister’s office said.

Conte assessed the economic situation and the budget with Economy Minister Giovanni Tria and the heads of the League and the 5-Star Movement, the two parties that make up the ruling coalition, the statement said.

The budget, which will be drawn up in the autumn, “twins the government’s economic goals with the stability of public finances, in particular the continuation of a downward path in the ratio of debt to GDP,” the statement said.

Italian stocks and government bonds have come under pressure in recent days due to contagion from financial turmoil in Turkey and market concerns that Rome’s spending plans will push up the already-high public debt.

source: Reuters