Italy and France as well as "other European Union countries" agree there needs to be an accord "as soon as possible" on the bloc's next seven-year 1.1 trillion euro budget and 750 billion euro recovery plan, premier Giuseppe Conte said on Thursday.
"We agree on the necessity of reaching agreement on the next multi-annual financial framework (2021-2027 budget) as soon as possible," Conte said after talks in Brussels with French president Emmanuel Macron.
Italy has never sought to deny the situation is "complicated", Conte said.
"We are 27 heads of state and government. There are different sensitivities," he stated.
But Italy and France "certainly agree on the need to grasp the political dimension" of the bloc's recovery from the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Conte underlined.
Conte and Macron's meeting came ahead of a crunch European leaders summit on Friday and Saturday that will try to reach agreement on the MFF and proposed COVID-19 recovery fund.