"This new budget is targeted against the people. It is depleting [Italy's] north without aiding [the country's] south, it is slowing down the growth and increasing the debt, while at the same time raises the cost of credits and loans for households and enterprises. It makes us less independent and more reliable on markets. This is how common sense is being eliminated rather than poverty," European Parliament President Antonio Tajani wrote on his Twitter.
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Earlier in the week, the Italian government agreed on the budget parameters, deciding to elaborate the document with a deficit of 2.4 percent of the country's GDP.
The draft budget also provides for the increase of the minimum level of pensions, the introduction of benefits for the unemployed and poor. The proposed changes are expected to cost about 33.5 billion euros ($38.8 billion), with 27.2 billion euros accounting for the budget's deficit share.
The changes to the budget parameters proposed by the Italian government have faced harsh criticism by Brussels, with EU officials warning that the draft Italian budget contradicted the EU key rules on debt reduction.
Italy ranks second after Greece in the European Union in terms of public debt, with its debt amounting to 131.8 percent of the country's GDP.
