ROME- Italy's coalition leaders agree on the need to avoid being rapped on the knuckles by the European Union over public finances but the government remains opposed to any belt-tightening measures, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.

Conte met with League leaders Matteo Salvini and 5-Star head Luigi Di Maio late on Monday, after threatening to resign if his two deputy prime ministers failed to end weeks of bickering and agree on a strategy to avoid disciplinary steps from the European Commission due to Rome's excessive debt.

"There is full agreement that the disciplinary procedure must be avoided," Conte told reporters after attending a business conference.

But "we're not at all ready to revise the government's 'philosophy', so no austerity or recessive measures," he added.

(Reporting by Stefano Bernabei, writing by Valentina Za; editing by Stephen Jewkes) ((valentina.za@thomsonreuters.com; +39 02 6612 9526;))