MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's economy minister Pier Carlo Padoan is confident that the European Union will approve the country's expansionary, tax-cutting 2015 budget despite concerns in Brussels it is not doing enough to rein in its debt, he said in an newspaper interview.
Asked by Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore if Europe would accept the country's budget, Padoan replied that he was confident it would go through.
The budget, approved after a Wednesday evening cabinet meeting of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, lowers taxes by 18 billion euros ($23.07 billion), with the 39-year-old former mayor of Florence describing it as "the biggest tax cut in the history of our republic."
The package will be sent to the European Commission for scrutiny. EU sources have told Reuters it may be rejected for failing to respect recommendations on deficit and debt reduction.
(Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic)