Italian ministers expected to hold budget meeting on Friday

ROME (Reuters) – Top ministers of the anti-establishment Italian government are expected to meet on Friday to discuss the country’s budget for next year, two sources said, as the government remains split about spending plans.

The meeting is scheduled for 0900 GMT, the sources told Reuters.

Short-dated Italian government bonds sold off for a second day in a row on Friday on continued speculation over the meeting. Investors fear Economy Minister Giovanni Tria could be sidelined or even forced to resign over the budget.

Tria, an economy professor, has repeatedly said he planned to reduce the country’s huge debt and wanted to coordinate fiscal moves with the European Commission, which monitors how European Union member states comply with EU fiscal rules.

But the two parties that make up the government, anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and far-right League, are pushing for ambitious spending plans and tax cuts that could breach EU fiscal rules and increase the public debt.

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