Italy will balance social needs and EU commitments-minister

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's government will stick to commitments agreed with the European Union though it also aims to address the country's social needs, the economy minister said on Tuesday, after a meeting the previous day on the 2019 budget.

"While we respect the commitments with Europe we target a balanced path ... that takes into account social needs and economic requirements," Giovanni Tria told a business audience at the Bloomberg European Capital Markets Forum.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, Valentina Za and Luca Trogni,)