German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in Berlin on Thursday, ahead of next week's summit on the European Union's next seven-year budget.
EU leaders are meeting on February 7-8 in Brussels to discuss the 2014-2020 budget, amid debate on whether the pro-growth pact will be weakened by some nations' calls for austerity and budget cuts.
Monti said on Wednesday in Brussels that the growth pact was "probably insufficient" and is "probably at risk of being contradicted next week with the decisions on the budget."
The 120-billion-euro (163-billion-dollar) pact - which promised more money for the European Investment Bank and project bonds for infrastructure - was meant to assuage fears that the EU is too focused on austerity in response to the eurozone debt crisis.
But many EU governments are now pushing for cuts to reflect the austerity they have had to implement back home. Disagreements about the way forward prevented a deal from being struck last year.
Monti has become one of the most powerful politicians in the EU since his technocratic government came to power in debt-hit Italy. He faces elections on February 24-25.