FILE PHOTO: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte meets with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to discuss the dispute between the EU and Rome over Italy's profligate policies in its 2019 draft budget, in Brussels, Belgium November 24, 2018. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker later today is confirmed for the time being, a source at the prime minister’s office said on Wednesday.

Conte is expected to meet Juncker in Brussels in the afternoon to try to avoid EU disciplinary action against Rome over the country’s big-spending 2019 budget.

Earlier on Wednesday, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that Conte could call off the meeting as the ruling coalition parties are resisting any major reduction to next year’s deficit target.