The actions of Italy's premier designate Giuseppe Conte and the nascent populist government will count more than their words, a spokesman for the European Union executive arm said on Thursday.
"We assess governments based on their actions not their words," said European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas .
"The EU is based on dialogue, respect for obligations and on steadfast collaboration," Schinas told reporters in Brussels.
His remarks followed a question on how the Commission viewed remarks by Conte on Wednesday affirming the need for the future populist government to maintain Italy's European and international ties.
In a speech accepting Mattarella's invitation to form a government, the law professor and political novice said he was “fully aware of the challenges we face” and "the need to confirm Italy’s European and international standing”.
The planned anti-austerity government between the grassroots Five-Star Movement and the eurosceptic League party that would revisit the EU's budget rules has alarmed the bloc and sent jitters through European markets.
A populist government in Italy - a founder of the European project -represents the biggest threat to the EU since Britain's exit, according to some observers.
Italy has been in political limbo since the inconclusive 4 March national election in which populist forces made strong gains but no party or alliance won an outright parliamentary majority.
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