(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government may request up to 36 billion euros ($40 billion) in credit lines linked to the European Stability Mechanism by the end of July, Repubblica newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information.

The Italian government wants to wrap up talks on the European Union recovery fund first before deciding on the ESM credit lines, Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri said in an interview on RAI 3 TV late Saturday. The advantage of the ESM lines, linked to health spending, is that the interest rate is close to zero and there are no conditions attached, he added.

Conte received preliminary approval from Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio of the Five Star movement, which has been against tapping the fund, the newspaper said. Italy aims to request an ESM loan along with other EU members including Spain and Portugal, it added.

Di Maio’s office denied the report. Conte’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg News.

Conte told Repubblica in a June 12 interview that the government will make a decision in July “if there is a necessity.”

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