01/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - The Italian Minister for European Affairs, Rocco Buttiglione, revived the debate on the Stability and Growth Pact on Tuesday, declaring that the Italian Presidency would propose excluding research expenditure from calculations of the deficit. The Minister indicated that this subject would be dealt with at the informal "Competition" meeting to take place on 11 and 12 July in Rome. Mr Buttiglione stressed that Italy did not want to change all the provisions of the Pact. He also welcomed the debate on the funding of pensions within the EU, saying it would be a good idea to indicate the ceiling for the maximum allowable funding for pensions.