Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday his government intends to introduce a decree next week to accelerate economic reforms aimed at wipe out the budget deficit and allaying fears over Italy's debt, dpa reported. The decree will be approved by the cabinet "by August 18," Berlusconi was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency. Berlusconi made the announcement during late afternoon talks with with labour representatives and business leaders aimed at seeking support for the economic reforms which include balancing the state budget by 2013. Earlier Italian stocks fell on the Milan bourse whose FTSE MIB index closed down 6.65 percent. -- SPA