Italy wants mentality change, not looser EU budget rules: Renzi

ROME: Italy wants a change in European "mentality" and not looser budget rules, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Friday, adding that he would propose an ambitious agenda for when it assumes the rotating European Union presidency he takes over next month.

"We are not asking for a revision or relaxation of the accords" on budget matters, Renzi said in a statement. "Instead we want a change in mentality, a leap forward for the entire EU as a reply to the anxiety and the challenges that Europe is facing."

Italy has called for flexibility in European budget rules to encourage economic growth and jobs, in a switch away from the austerity imposed in the wake of the euro zone debt crisis.