Italy's Tria says no new steps needed to address EU concerns over debt

Italian Finance Minister Giovanni Tria said on Friday that Rome did not need to adopt new fiscal measures to comply with European Union fiscal rules, apparently contradicting the position of EU partners.

"We need to reach a deficit (in 2019) which will also compensate for deviations from the 2018 target. We think we can reach it without legislative changes," Tria told reporters after a meeting with EU Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici.

Many EU officials have asked new measures to reduce Italy's soaring debt.