Italy's lower house of parliament speaker Roberto Fico said he had "constructive, good" dialogue in his talks in Brussels Monday with European Union officials including economic and financial affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici.
"The dialogue was good, constructive, it's a good start," said Fico, who belongs to the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement.
Fico also met the heads of the European Parliament's Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe centrist grouping, Guy Verhofstadt, and the Progress Alliance of Socialists and Democrats centre-left grouping, Udo Bullmann.
On Tuesday, he will hold talks with European Parliament president Antonio Tajani, EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and other top officials.
Fico declined to comment on remarks made on Monday by Italy's eurosceptic interior minister and far-right League party leader Matteo Salvini calling Moscovici and Juncker "enemies of Europe".
Italy’s 10-year bond yield soared to a four-year high, banking stocks plunged on Monday and the euro weakened amid the escalating standoff sparked by the populist government's refusal to bow to the EU's fiscal rules in its budget plans.
Salvini latest attack on Juncker and Moscovici came after the European Commission sent the Italian government a letter expressing concern about Italy's plans to allow the deficit to climb to 2.4 percent of GDP next year - triple the target of the previous centre-left government.
On Friday, Salvini accused Juncker and Moscovici of approving economic measures in recent years that have "impoverished Italy and made its situation precarious" and have "wrecked Europe and our country".
Juncker last week likened Italy to Greece and said that the governing coalition’s plans to hike Italy's deficit endangered the euro.
