Italy to Resist Budget Pressure Ahead of EU Elections

Italy to Resist Budget Pressure Ahead of EU Elections
European Union and Italian flags in downtown Rome, Italy, on Oct. 19, 2018. Reuters/Alessandro Bianchi
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ROME—Italy said on Nov. 22 it would resist pressure from Brussels to revise its big-spending budget, effectively daring EU authorities to punish it with fines ahead of May’s European parliamentary elections.

Leaders of Rome’s populist government said they would press ahead with expanding the deficit next year, a day after the European Commission kicked off disciplinary procedures against Italy over that plan in a dispute that has alarmed the whole eurozone.