Rome can avoid EU sanctions: Italy PM

ROME, Nov 25 (AFP): Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he was "confident" Rome could avoid unprecedented EU sanctions over its big-spending budget, rejected by Brussels, following talks with European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker.

Rome's coalition government insists its 2019 budget will help kickstart growth in the eurozone's third largest economy and reduce debt, but the EU says the country risks "sleepwalking into instability" and increasing its already massive debt burden.

After dinner on Saturday in Brussels with Juncker, Conte told Italian television: "I am confident that dialogue can avoid an infringement procedure."

The EU's rejection of the budget on Wednesday was widely expected after it had sent it back to Rome for reconsideration in a historic first for the bloc.

Italy refused to back down, setting the stage for Wednesday's final opinion that deplored "a marked backtracking" on past reforms.