ROME - The Italian Senate on Sunday passed a revised 2019 budget agreed after a tense standoff with Brussels which saw the populist government water down key measures. The budget is expected to go to the lower house after Christmas and before a New Year deadline. In a historic first, in October the European Commission rejected Italy's big-spending budget, which promised a universal basic income and scrapped pension reform. Italy's first budget was set to blow through commitments made by the previous government, and require Rome raising even more debt. Italy's public debt is a big problem and now sits at a huge 2.3 trillion euros ($2.6 trillion), or 131 percent of Italy's GDP -- way above the 60 percent EU ceiling.

Source: Bangkok Post December 23, 2018 08:03 UTC