Italy wants dialogue with EU, but won't betray promises - Di Maio

Italian Deputy PM Luigi Di Maio speaks at the 5-Star Movement party's open-air rally at Circo Massimo in Rome, Italy, October 20, 2018. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - Italy wants a dialogue with the European Commission to resolve a dispute over plans to increase deficit spending in the 2019 budget, but the government will not betray its campaign pledges, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Wednesday.

"We must talk with the EU to find a solution, but we cannot betray the promises we made, otherwise we will become like all the other (governments)," Di Maio said during a rally in central Italy streamed live on Facebook.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante, writing by Giulia Segreti, editing by Steve Scherer)