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Berlusconi Asks EU for Time on Deficit
Friday June 24, 4:06 pm ET
Berlusconi to Ask EU to Give Italy 2-3 Years to Bring Budget Deficit in Line With EU Rules


ROME (AP) -- Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Friday he intends to ask the European Union to give Italy two to three years to bring its budget deficit back in line with EU rules.
The European Commission said earlier this month that Italy broke the rules with excessive deficits of 3.1 percent in 2003 and 2004. The Commission expects Italy's budget deficit to amount to 4 percent of GDP in 2005, rising to as much as 5 percent of GDP in 2006. All figures are above the 3 percent deficit ceiling set by the rules underpinning the EU's currency union.

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"I will ask two to three years," Berlusconi was quoted by the ANSA and Apcom news agencies as saying at a news conference Friday.

Berlusconi's popularity has been suffering from the country's economic woes. The premier briefly resigned and shuffled his Cabinet earlier this year following an embarrassing defeat in regional elections held across Italy.

Berlusconi has often blamed Italy's economic woes on global trends.





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