BRUSSELS - The EU and Italy on Wednesday called a truce in their bitter row over Rome's disputed 2019 budget, as the populist government accepted to put off signature reforms. "Intensive negotiations over the last two weeks have resulted in a solution for 2019," EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Brussels. - Big debt problem -Italy and others complain that powerful France receives special treatment on its budget plans by the EU Commission. 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. European sources believe that the cost of servicing Italy's debt quickly turned Rome away from confrontation with Brussels that many predicted would drag on until next summer.

Source: Bangkok Post December 19, 2018 12:56 UTC