MILAN (AP) — Premier Silvio Berlusconi has reached an overnight deal with his allies in parliament on emergency growth measures demanded by the European Union.
The deal with the Northern League averts an immediate government crisis that put Berlusconi’s leadership at risk and could give fresh impetus to an EU summit Wednesday aimed at saving the euro from the widening sovereign debt crisis.
Italian news reports say Berlusconi and Northern League leader Umberto Bossi reached a deal on pensions, part of the EU-demanded measures that Berlusconi will deliver later.
Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini said on private TV that Italy will gradually raise the pension age from 65 to 67 by 2025.
