Italy's prime minister said on Friday he was determined to avoid an EU sanctions procedure over the country's growing debt and was due to hold talks with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker later in the day.

"We have to avert it," Giuseppe Conte told reporters as he arrived for the second day of an EU summit. "It's a difficult situation but I'm confident of a positive solution."

It is unclear if Italy can stop the procedure, which Brussels has said would be warranted on the basis of 2018 data and EU forecasts.