Luigi Di Maio, leader of Italian eurosceptic party Five Star Movement, trashed the EU’s attempt to undermine the Brexit cause.
In an interview with RT News, the frontrunner in the next Italian general election said EU interests must be protected as well as UK ones.
He said: “Our interest is to, first of all, protect the hundreds of thousands of Italians currently living in the UK.
“There was one point where the EU wriggled out this conviction whereby the UK should be punished because of Brexit. I don’t think it should be punished.
“I think there is a single market, and there are advantages for who is in the EU, and disadvantages for who isn’t in it.
“We must safeguard the investments and give continuity to the economic relationships with the EU of the past years.
“This must also be the case for the UK.”
The Italian politician is in the run as Italy’s next Prime Minister in competition with Matteo Salvini, leader of the League party and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Mr Di Maio vowed to fight the EU and to challenge the establishment on key issues, such as freedom of movement and the European shared currency.
He said: “Surely all the other countries have become sceptical towards the issues and aspects of the European Union.
“For this reason, I think this is a fruitful moment to start working on the revision of some European parameters. Especially those on the deficit that allows us to make more investments.”
While Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini announced a pre-election coalition, Di Maio refused to join forces with any other Italian political party in the hope to reach the majority needed to win the election on March 4.