Italy to cut 2020 structural deficit, Conte tells EU in letter

ROME (Reuters) - Italy will lower its structural deficit next year and is not seeking favours from the European Union, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has written in a letter to EU leaders as he seeks to head off sanctions over state finances.

The European Union Commission has threatened to impose disciplinary procedures on Italy over the management of its huge public debt, and is urging Rome to adopt new measures to improve its public finances this year and next.

Looking to avoid such a move, Conte wrote to all his EU counterparts, promising to cut the structural deficit by 0.2 percentage points next year. He also said the Commission threats were "incomprehensible", adding that its interpretation of EU rules were penalising efforts to boost economic growth.

(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Crispian Balmer)