"We're on the right path but we need to keep making progress," Moscovici told France Inter radio. "But I say to my Italian friends: everything that the pact allows, you will have it. Flexibility, you will have it."
"But be aware, one thing I cannot do is ignore the rules. That means make an extra effort."
The European Commission has rejected Italy's expansionary budget and called on Rome to make changes to prevent a disciplinary procedure that could lead to fines.
Italy's government will on Thursday make a final assessment of the costs of the main measures contained in its 2019 budget, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said.