Italian Prime Minister Mr Silvio Berlusconi escaped a humiliating budget warning today after promising euro zone finance ministers a package of budget cuts.
Standing in for ousted economy minister Mr Giulio Tremonti, the Italian premier came to Brussels to lay out plans for €7.5 billion of measures this year to keep Rome's deficit below the EU cap of 3 per cent of gross domestic product.
This was good enough for euro zone finance ministers and is also likely to placate the 25 European Union finance ministers, who must formally endorse the decision to waive the budget warning that had been recommended by the European Commission.
Italy, the euro zone's third biggest economy, follows in the footsteps of Germany and Portugal, which escaped warnings in 2002 and had been assured of equal treatment even before the euro zone meeting kicked off.
Berlin went on to break the EU deficit cap in 2002, and is, like Paris, seen topping it for a third year in a row in 2004.