The European Commission will not interfere in Italy's budget planning and assess the budget without bias but propose changes if necessary, European Union Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told Austrian newspapers.

"It is up to Italian policy-makers to find rules and measures that will allow Italy to remain within the agreed budgetary targets," Juncker said in an interview with dailies Der Standard and Kurier and weekly Der Falter, that was published on Saturday.

"We will assess the Italian budget without anger and fondness and propose changes if necessary," he added.

The targets set out in Italy's budget plan are a "source of serious concern", the European Commission said in a letter published by Italian daily la Repubblica late on Friday.

The Italian government this week unveiled the core of its expansionary multi-year budget plan, raising the target for the fiscal deficit to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product next year, three times the 0.8 percent goal set by the previous centre-left administration.