Italy's Salvini says wants budget deal with EU "but on our terms"

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini in Rome, Italy October 24, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

ROME (Reuters) - Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Thursday he wanted a deal with the European Commission over Italy's budget but gave no suggestion he was willing to compromise to find one.

Asked by reporters in parliament to comment on remarks by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who said earlier he was confident a deal would be reached, Salvini replied: "I also want a deal, but on our terms."

The Commission on Tuesday rejected Italy's 2019 budget plan which sharply raised the target for the fiscal deficit next year, telling Rome to submit a new one within three weeks.

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Gavin Jones)