Italy's public debt, which is already the third highest in the world, hit a fresh record level in April, the Central Italy reported on Thursday.

The country's debt swelled to 1,609.12 billion euros, according to Italian News Agency ANSA.

The report came in the wake of calls from the European Union that more be done to straighten Italy's public accounts.

The Italian government sees Italy's debt mountain falling to 105.1 percent of GDP this year compared to 106.8 percent last year and dropping below 100 percent by 2010.

The forecasts are contained in the center-left administration's draft DPEF, a key four-year economic and budget planning document.

The DPEF forecasts a budget deficit of 2.5 percent this year, down from 4.4 percent in 2006.

The 2006 deficit was the highest in 10 years and meant that Italy had breached the European Union's 3 percent deficit cap for four years running.

But the European Union has expressed concern over the DPEF, urging Italy to increase its efforts to consolidate public finances.

The International Monetary Fund has also criticized the DPEF as being "not in line" with its recommendations and failing to provide "what Italy needs."

It called for more money to be spent on cutting the deficit.

The Bank of Italy noted in its Thursday report that tax revenues were up 5 percent or 6.4 billion euros in the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2006.