Europe must overcome short-sighted rigor over fiscal policies: Italy PM

[December 11, 2018]  ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged Europe on Tuesday to overcome its "short-sighted" vision of fiscal rigor and said that he was working hard to bridge the gap with Brussels over Italy's expansionary 2019 budget.

The European Commission has rejected the big-spending budget, saying it will not cut Italy's large public debt as the rules require, and has warned it could discipline Rome unless changes are made.

"I will not go to Brussels with a book of dreams. I will go with a complete spectrum of the reform program," Conte said in a speech to parliament.

Conte will meet Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday in an attempt to find a compromise deal.

The prime minister added that a forecast hike in the budget deficit was needed to implement policies that Italians had urged the government to carry out and that his ruling coalition wasn't doing it "lightheartedly".

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Giulia Segreti; Editing by Crispian Balmer)

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