Brussels, 13/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Italian deficit is a source of concern for Joaquin Almunia, according to an interview in the Saturday edition of the daily newspaper La Stampa. After the Ecofin Council, the Commission for Economic and Monetary Affairs spoke of the "difficult" forecasts for the Italian public accounts in 2005 (EUROPE of 8 December, p.10). It is still the tax reduction measures of 6.5 billion EUR which cast doubt on the Commission's forecasts, said Mr Almunia on Saturday, adding that "if the reductions are not entirely paid for by other revenue or by the equivalent reduction in expenditure, the deficit will exceed 3%". An assessment of the Italian government's fiscal package is underway, and "for the moment, we are worried", he said, adding that he was reserving judgement, and that he could not say in how many days he would be able to do so. In his autumn forecasts, the Commission anticipates an Italian state deficit of 3% in 2004 and 2005, but only predicts 8% growth in 2005, compared to the Italian government's forecast of 2.1%.