Italy PM Renzi says to accelerate growth and respect EU limits

BERLIN (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Monday the goal of his government is to increase the country's growth rate, which has been among the lowest in the euro zone for more than a decade, while respecting European Union budget limits.

Speaking after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin after proposing sweeping tax cuts last week, Renzi said: "Italy is not asking to exceed treaty limits."

Italian debt has risen as a percentage of output in recent years even though spending has been kept in check because growth has been stagnant, Renzi said, adding that the country's domestic demand had "collapsed."

"The measures that we presented aim to restore buying power to Italians and to accelerate growth because without growth the crisis will go on even if we continue to run a primary surplus," Renzi said.

(Reporting by Alexandra Hudson and Stephen Brown; writing by Steve Scherer.)