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Italy splurges on welfare in new budget
By EUobserver
The Italian government on Monday approved a new budget raising welfare spending in the teeth of EU complaints. The extra funds for pensions, tax breaks, and a basic income is to push the Italian deficit-to-GDP ratio to 2.4 percent. That is below the EU's three percent limit, but EU officials believe the real costs will be higher, as the European Commission prepares to assess the plan.