Italy's far-right government wins final approval for its 30-billion-euro budget

ROME — Italy's parliament on Saturday approved the government's 2025 budget, worth a total of 30 billion euros ($31 billion) — more than half of that in tax cuts and social security benefits for low-income citizens.

The measures, pushed by the far-right cabinet headed by Premier Giorgia Meloni, won final approval in the Upper House by 108 votes to 63.

The country's center-left opposition had harshly criticized the economic package, saying it didn't meet the premier's pledges to slash taxes for most Italians and boost employment.

Meloni has staunchly defended the budget, stressing its ''wide balance'' and its aim to support low and medium-income earners and families with children, while adding resources for the country's struggling health system.

''We used the limited resources available to strengthen the main measures approved during the past years, making them structural and widening them to include a larger audience,'' the premier said after the budget's final approval.

The package includes a 1,000-euro bonus for the parents of newborns, with wealthier families excluded, as part of efforts to reverse Italy's declining birth rate.

Banks, which have enjoyed high profits in recent years thanks to falling interest rates, will be asked to contribute 3.5 billion euros to the budget, which will to go the national health system.

Italy is under pressure from the European Union to slash its deficit after huge spikes in 2022 and 2023, and has pledged to bring it below the EU's 3% of GDP ceiling in 2026.