Italy to face scrutiny over budget reporting

European Union finance ministers are assessing a report today on Italy’s reporting of its budget deficit over the past years, only a week after Greece was challenged over alleged sloppy bookkeeping and possible underreporting of deficit figures.

The report, drafted by the European Commission, says Italy had run deficits over the EU’s 3% limit of gross domestic product every year since 1997, which would include the period it was qualifying to join the euro.