Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Tuesday said he will resign after austerity measures demanded by the European leaders were approved by the parliament.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi looks on during a crucial vote at the parliament in Rome, Italy, Nov. 8, 2011. Berlusconi said Tuesday that he would resign after stability measures were approved following a meeting with President Giorgio Napolitano, according to a statement published by the Italian President Palace. [Wang Qingqin/Xinhua]

"After the approval of this finance law, which has amendments for everything which Europe has asked of us and which the Eurogroup has requested, I will resign, to allow the head of state to open consultations," he told Canale 5 television.

In his meeting with President Giorgio Napolitano, Berlusconi expressed "his awareness of the implications of the result of today's vote (on a 2010 budget report of the government), but at the same time has shown deep concern about the urgent need to give precise answers to the expectations of European partners," the president's office said in a statement published on its website. 

Both opposition parties and allies have urged the embattled prime minister to step down, amid rising concerns over whether Italy can solve its debt problems.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Pierluigi Bersani called on Berlusconi to step down as "his government no longer has a majority in this chamber."

"Mister Prime Minister, I ask you with all my strength to finally take account of the situation and resign, asking the Italian president to find a solution that can enable our country to face this emergency," he said.

"We all know that Italy is running the real risk of not having access to financial markets," he added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Berlusconi's leading political ally Umberto Bossi, leader of the conservative Northern League party in the ruling coalition, also urged him to resign.

"We asked him to step aside," he said outside the parliament before the vote.

International concerns is now focused on Italy, the third largest economy in the euro zone and one of the founding members of the European Union, as the country has been sucked into the epicentre of the euro zone debt crisis.

The European commissioner for economic affairs, Olli Rehn, described the country's economic and financial situation as "very worrying."

The sense of crisis intensified over the last few days as investors are worried that  Italy's low growth rate combined with its high debt could make it the next country to succumb to the debt crisis following Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Related

• Berlusconi won confidence vote in parliament
• AC Milan defeats Juve to win Trofeo Berlusconi
• Italy's Berlusconi, Bossi agreed to cut taxes and remain allies
• Berlusconi in court on bribery charges

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