In a brutal attack on his fellow European Union (EU) members, he said the first EU summit without the UK amounted to no more than "a nice cruise on the Danube". Having been excluded from a joint news conference by the German Chancellor, Mrs Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, he said he was dissatisfied with the Bratislava summit's closing statement. The outspoken Italian premier hit out at the lack of commitments on the economy and immigration in the summit's conclusions, despite signing it himself.

Getty Matteo Renzi lashed out at Angela Merkel for pretending the Bratislava summit went well

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I don't know what Merkel is referring to when she talks about the 'spirit of Bratislava' Matteo Renzi

In a fiery interview in Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Mr Renzi intensified his criticisms, although he remained vague on what commitments he would have liked the summit to produce. The Prime Minister has staked his career on a referendum this autumn over plans for constitutional reform, promising to resign if he loses.

Getty Mr Renzi said the summit was no more than "a nice cruise on the Danube"

Talking about his fellow leaders, he said: "If we want to pass the afternoon writing documents without any soul or any horizon they can do it on their own. "I don't know what Merkel is referring to when she talks about the 'spirit of Bratislava'. "If things go on like this, instead of the spirit of Bratislava we'll be talking about the ghost of Europe."

Mr Renzi said he is preparing a 2017 budget which he claims will cut taxes despite a slowing economy and record high public debt. He added: "At Bratislava we had a nice cruise on the Danube, but I hoped for answers to the crisis caused by Brexit, not just to go on a boat trip."

Getty European Council president Donald Tusk accused Merkel at the summit of causing the migrant crisis

Getty Mrs Merkel was attacked by several of her fellow leaders during the summit

He was similarly belligerent about the Italian budget to be presented next month, saying there would be "no negotiation" with Brussels, and money he planned to spend on tackling immigration and making Italy safer from earthquakes would be excluded from EU rules on deficit limits. Other countries were more guilty than Italy of breaking budget rules and Italy had met its commitments on tackling the inflows of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, Renzi said.

LIVE: Bratislava EU summit Fri, September 16, 2016 LIVE: A look through the key moments at the EU summit held in Bratislava. Play slideshow Getty•REUTERS 1 of 12 EU leaders attend the European Union summit in Bratislava

He said: "I'm not going to stay silent for the sake of a quiet life. "If someone wants to keep Italy quiet they have picked the wrong place, the wrong method and the wrong subject."