Rome, Dhu-AlQa'dah 25, 1437, August 28, 2016, SPA -- The Italian government will seek a derogation from European Union deficit rules to launch a multi-billion-euro programme to make its building stock more earthquake proof, two officials said on Sunday, according to dpa. "It is not a request to spend money liberally," Deputy Economy Minister Enrico Zanetti told the La Stampa newspaper. "It would be a serious, specific and gradual request to tackle seismic risks with the necessary investments," he added. A 6-magnitude quake struck a mountainous area of central Italy on Wednesday, destroying several towns and killing at least 291 people. The cost of repairing the damage is unclear, but works are likely to cost several billion euros and take years to complete. In addition, more than 50 per cent of existing private homes across the country do not meet any earthquake safety regulations, and securing the ones in the areas at highest risk would cost almost 36 billion euros (40 billion dollars), the National Council of Engineers has calculated. EU rules, which force eurozone countries to aim for balanced budgets, already contain several exceptions, including for one-off spending on emergency relief and reconstruction as a result of natural disasters. Rome would like to stretch that clause to cover earthquake prevention costs, Claudio De Vincenti, undersecretary in Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's office, said in another interview with Il Messaggero newspaper. "This is the political and economic policy step that Europe is called to make," he said. --SPA 11:49 LOCAL TIME 08:49 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w