Italy stands by main pillars of budget as EU deadline nears

ROME/HELSINKI (Reuters) - Italy stood by the main pillars of its 2019 budget on Friday, as a deadline neared for it to change what Brussels called overly optimistic assumptions or face penalties for breaking EU fiscal rules.Luigi Di Maio, the deputy prime minister in Rome, and Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said they were committed to respecting a maximum budget deficit of 2.4 percent of economic output next year.But the European Commission, which has given Rome until Tuesday to present a new..