VIENNA (Reuters) - Italy's finance minister said on Saturday he expected a small improvement in Italy's structural balance next year, offering partial reassurance to markets and European Union partners concerned the coalition government will ramp up spending.
Giovanni Tria told reporters after a meeting of EU finance ministers in Vienna that "obviously there will be an improvement" in the structural balance, which excludes one-off expenditures, although it was likely to be very small.
EU rules require Italy to achieve a large improvement in its fiscal balance next year.
European Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday after meeting Tria that Italy was moving in the right direction with plans to cut its debt and improve its structural balance.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Catherine Evans)
