European Union leaders will agree tomorrow to make full use of the flexibility offered by EU fiscal rules to boost economic growth so that structural reforms are taken into account in the assessment of budget discipline, draft summit conclusions said.

The agreement is a success for Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi, who has been pushing for a more lenient interpretation of the rules since he took office in February. Without faster growth, Italy won't be able reduce its huge public debt.

“The possibilities offered by the EU’s existing fiscal framework to balance fiscal discipline with the need to support growth should be used,” draft conclusions of the EU summit that will take place on Friday showed. (Reuters)