Brussels, 10/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - Portuguese Finance Minister Teixeira dos Santos said on Tuesday that right from the start, the Italian finance minister had said that Italy might find it difficult to meet its mid-term target in 2010, but the Portuguese minister said he was sure that Italy would do all it could to manage it. Italy is still undergoing proceedings for excess deficit and like France, may need more time to bring its public finances back to equilibrium. At the Eurogroup meeting on Monday night Italian finance minister Tommaso Padoa Schioppa said that Italy was more likely to balance the books in 2011. At a press conference on Tuesday, he said 'the concern is there and it was expressed by Trichet, Almunia and other colleagues.' EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said that the Eurogroup had sympathy for the efforts and concern about the dangers, referring to the budget situation in France and Italy. The Italian deficit will be 2.5% in 2007, higher than forecast by the Commission (2.1%) and attempts to correct it will not achieve the desired structural adjustment of 0.5% of GDP a year, explained Almunia, adding that the 2010 target was not impossible but would be difficult to achieve. (ab)