"Our target is to reduce the debt," Conte told
reporters. "But we want to do it through economic growth and
investments," he said, adding that Italy would need "some time"
to reach its fiscal targets and invest in the green economy,
digitalization and the relaunch of its impoverished south.
Conte, on his first visit to Brussels after becoming the head of
a government backed by the 5-star and Democratic Party, repeated
calls for a lenient interpretation of EU fiscal rules. Past
Italian governments made similar requests; some led to prolonged
disputes with the European Union.
After Conte met the commission's president-designate, Ursula von
der Leyen, an EU official said: "They had a good exchange about
the new political situation in Italy. And also about migration
and economics. No concrete results."
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio, editing by
Larry King)
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