Italy hikes deficit, defying EU, as economy minister caves in

By Giuseppe Fonte and Angelo Amante ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government on Thursday targeted the budget deficit at 2.4 percent of gross domestic product for the next three years, defying Brussels and marking a victory for party chiefs over economy minister Giovanni Tria, an unaffiliated technocrat. Tria had initially wanted a deficit set as low as 1.6 percent next year, hoping to respect European Union demands that Italy progressively cut the fiscal gap to rein in its high debt

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