Italy could breach EU public deficit rules this year due to a slumping economy, official data showed Friday, but any violation would be "small and temporary", Economy Minister Domenico Siniscalco said.

First-quarter figures approved Friday by the government foresaw a public deficit between 2.9 and 3.5 percent of gross domestic product, based on GDP growth of 1.2 percent, the news agency ANSA reported, citing a document presented at a meeting of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's new cabinet.

Italy, as a member of the eurozone, is obliged under the European Union's Stability and Growth Pact to keep its public deficit under 3.0 percent of GDP.

The Italian economy minister downplayed the latest data.

"We have the situation in hand. If we're talking about a breach it will be small and temporary, everything envisaged under the new pact," Siniscalco said.

Berlusconi's previous cabinet had forecast GDP growth of 2.1 percent in 2005 and a deficit/GDP ratio of 2.7 percent for this year.

But the European Commission, the EU executive branch, has forecast that Italy's deficit could stand at 3.6 percent of output this year and swell to 4.6 percent in 2006.

Earlier this month, EU economic affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the commission would launch disciplinary measures against Italy by June as a result of its excessive public deficit.

The Italian government has told Brussels its public shortfall amounted to 3.0 percent of GDP last year. But the EU's statistics arm, Eurostat, refuses to validate the figure, EU officials said.

This year's final GDP/deficit ratio will depend on discussions between the Italian government and Eurostat on how to classify certain expenditures of the Italian state, the cabinet's document read.

Berlusconi vowed this week that Italy would respect the stability pact.

"Italy, despite the difficulties, has always respected in the last four years the GDP-deficit ratio of three percent, which it will continue to do for all of 2005," Berlusconi said Tuesday in a speech presenting his new government's program to parliament.