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Italy backs down in its budget standoff with the E.U.

2018-12-19 16:08:55       source:The Washington Post

December 19, 2018


ROME — The populist Italian government’s first experiment in challenging Europe appeared to near its conclusion Tuesday with reports of the most conventional of outcomes: an agreement with Brussels bureaucrats.


Just weeks ago, Italy’s leaders were saying they would not compromise in their battle with the European Union over the country’s budget-stretching spending plans.


One coalition party leader, Luigi Di Maio, said the government would “not backtrack by a millimeter.” The other party leader, Matteo Salvini, said Italy wouldn’t “be a servant” to European rules. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was just as direct. “There isn’t any Plan B,” he said in one interview.


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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/italy-backs-down-in-its-budget-standoff-with-the-eu/2018/12/18/3cb996f4-f8af-11e8-8642-c9718a256cbd_story.html?utm_term=.e1ff7d9b41ae